Nine Simple Words
by danderson
Summary: Complete. Over 180 reviews, and 31 of you added it to Fave Stories over the course of the fic! Thanks SO MUCH! Please review this final chapter, even though it won't lead to an update!
1. Pairs

It all really began with nine simple words, spoken by the Life Sciences teacher one day in the middle of October: "I'm assigning projects. You will all work in pairs."

PAIRS? Elphaba Thropp hated pairs. She thought fast, but, unlike most classes, there was not an odd number of students. She couldn't volunteer to work solo.

A few seats away from where Elphaba sat scowling, her best friend, Galinda Upland (of the UpperUplands) and her boyfriend, Fiyero Tiggular, sat, bored, waiting to find out who their partners would be. Neither would have minded being paired with Elphaba, not only because they liked her, but because she would be their best hope of getting a decent grade on the assignment. In fact, Fiyero was a little curious about his girlfriend's friend, who refused to speak to him most of the time. If he was working with her, she'd _have_ to speak to him, wouldn't she?

The students were assigned by last name, with Thropp and Tiggular being conveniently (in Fiyero's case) one after the other (which mortified Elphaba). Galinda, who thought there might be a good chance of being with Fiyero (U _did_ come right after T, after all) pouted. If she'd thought about it, she would've realized that she was second to last on the class list, and so she was obviously with the person who was last. But that would have required _thinking_, rather than just being hopeful that everything would be perfect. Fiyero didn't notice his girlfriend's mood, as he turned toward Elphaba, who was sitting by herself, and chucked a note onto her desk.

She opened it and read Fiyero's barely legible scrawl: "today after school? wanna get movin on the whole thing?"

Elphaba wrinkled her nose at the monstrosity that was the prince's grammar, punctuation, and generally-brainless penmanship. "I suppose that today after school we could meet in a study room to begin our project. I'll reserve one at lunch." Fiyero saw her write a reply, then put her pen down and pay strict attention to the class. Why didn't she throw it back?

He stared at the piece of paper, which she had tucked under the edge of her notebook, until Galinda's persistence in poking his side and hissing his name got his attention.

"Fiyero, pay attention to me," she whispered, when he finally turned to look at her.

"Sorry," he said, dropping his arm over Galinda's shoulders, but continuing to glance in Elphaba's direction from time to time. It was odd, a girl not immediately giggling and desperately throwing back a note. It irked him, though, as he looked at Galinda, he realized that the most beautiful girl at Shiz would happily write him notes (adorned with hearts and stars, no doubt) and so that was good enough for him. At the end of class, Elphaba marched over to Fiyero and Galinda, handed Fiyero the note, and then quickly exited, dragging Galinda away to their next class.

He tore it open greedily, but found nothing but the icy, clinical, begrudging information typical of Elphaba Thropp. He pocketed the note, telling himself he might need to re-check it later, lest he forget what it said.

When Fiyero sauntered into the study room room a half hour after school, he was stunned to be immediately greeted by Elphaba, who got right down to business.

"I found the books you'll need, here you go," Elphaba said, handing him a stack of four large volumes.

"These books are HUGE!"

"There's an Index," the girl said, as if that helped at all. He looked at her, waiting for her to say more. "You can look up the subject in the Index, it'll say the page number it's on, you can just go to that page."

"Oh," Fiyero said. Elphaba rolled her eyes.

"I've also written out a list of topics for you to look up. I'll take care of the rest." Elphaba handed him a piece of paper with three sub-topics written on it. He glanced at her list, which was about three times longer. It made sense, though, that she do more work. She was some sort of supergenius, and he was practically a barnacle with good looks.

Fiyero looked at his list, thumbed through the Index for about fifteen seconds, then, bored, turned his attention to the girl next to him, who was already buried in about seventy books simultaneously. "So, what made you pick Shiz as your university?"

Elphaba ignored him.

"Elphaba?"

"I'm busy," she said, as if he couldn't see her.

"Yeah, but..." Fiyero looked despairingly at his little pile of books. There were so many words in those books. "Don't you think that -"

"Just...ATTEMPT to do some work," Elphaba grumbled.

Two hours later, Fiyero's brain felt mushy, but Elphaba was just getting warmed up. "We've been taking notes for hourrrrrrrrs," Fiyero whined, massaging his writing hand.

"It's called getting an education. It's what you're supposed to be here for." Elphaba didn't even look at him when she addressed him, he noticed. Why was she always hunched over her books? Why not just sit up and make conversation like a normal person? Though, he realized, he _had_ gotten a lot of work done. With a sort of wondrous awe, he leafed through the four or so pages (double-sided!) of notes he'd made, and examined them. Complete(ish) sentences, references, footnotes, everything. He started to read some of it and realized he knew what came next.

Prince Fiyero Tiggular had _learned something._ He almost fell out of his chair.

Trying to act like it was no big deal, Fiyero eyed the green girl next to him. She hadn't beaten him over the head with a stick, but he had a feeling that she was why he'd put any effort in at all. To impress her? That was absurd. But still, working on this project together had been fun, sort of, and he really did feel like he was learning.

"Say, Elphaba," he said, thinking that maybe it would be nice to see this girl a little more often. "Maybe you could help me study, like, regularly."

"Why would I help you study?" she asked, as if he'd asked her to donate perhaps a limb or an actual section of her brain, which she likened to trying to help this lazy prince, anyway.

"Because you're ever so smart, and infinitely smarter than I am," he said, not trying to hide that he was playing to the nonexistant vanity she possessed.

Elphaba eyed him warily. His impish grin and sparkling eyes swayed the hearts of many, but Elphaba had walls, boundaries, despite her ability to see some charm in this boy.

"So...?" he asked, waiting.

"I'll think about it."

He nodded, satisfied that that was better than nothing, and pretended to resume pretending to read his textbook, though he was pretty sure he was going to need to rest his brain for awhile.

A few moments later, Elphaba opened her mouth to answer him, but was cut off by the entrance of the ever-perky and ever-moving Galinda.

"HERE YOU ARE!!! I've been looking for you two for forever!"

Fiyero looked up from his pretend reading and his face fell a little, but only for a moment. Elphaba saw it, but when she looked at Galinda, she saw that her friend was examining her nails. "Well you weren't going to find us on your hand," Elphaba said coolly.

Fiyero chuckled, but Galinda looked at her friend blankly, not getting the joke. Feeling bad for her, Fiyero explained. "Because you're looking at your nails, she made a joke that that was where you'd been looking all along," he said gently.

"Oh."

Galinda still didn't seem to have anything going on in her brain, and Elphaba was surprised that Fiyero DID. In fact, _Fiyero_ was surprised that he had gotten the joke.

"Maybe there's hope for you, yet, Master Tiggular," Elphaba said, standing and collecting her books. "After all, I do have my OWN studying to do, I can't be wasting my time on some hopeless -"

"Thank you, Miss Elphaba," Fiyero said, cutting her off. To top off the moment, he proudly held out the notes he had taken. "I believe these are for you," he said.

Elphaba's eyes lit up. Galinda wondered why anyone would looked excited about someone saying "I believe these are for you" while not holding flowers, or chocolates, or diamonds.

"You did all this work today?"

Fiyero shrugged. "You refused to speak to me, I had to find some way to pass the time. My writing is awful, though. I hope you can read it... I assumed that you would want to look it over before we did a good copy."

Elphaba just nodded.

"So I'll see you tomorrow in class," Fiyero said. "We'll set up a time then."

And then he was gone, Galinda prancing along like a pink powder puff next to him. Elphaba noticed with a chuckle that Galinda had to do a little run to match his long strides, almost like she was an eager poodle yipping around begging for treats. She instantly felt awful thinking anything negative about her best (and only) friend, and flushed. She had a sneaking suspicion that her catty observation had something to do with the company Galinda so easily kept.

And if that were true... Elphaba didn't want to think about it.


	2. Magazines

Fiyero had always been curious about Elphaba - in a way, who wasn't? He knew that nobody liked her, mainly because she was green, which he didn't understand. Wasn't the Place to Be called "The Emerald City"? How could everyone love a city for being green but loathe the same trait in a person? He knew that she had a dutiful relationship with her sister, who seemed constantly embarassed to be associated with the School Outcast, but, conflictingly, loved and admired the girl as well.

Galinda and Elphaba had gotten off to a rocky start. Ashamed, Fiyero realized that he hadn't been overly nice to Elphaba, either, in the beginning. He'd been thoughtless, which was typical of him. And then, displaying even _less_ thought, he'd decided to date Galinda, who, though nice, wasn't exactly long-term material.

Her stories were cute once, maybe. But the same topics came up over and over again, and Fiyero found himself less and less concerned with whether Sheer Rose or Dusty Lily was the perfect shade for her latest dress. It confused Fiyero that he seemed to want something deeper, something he could contribute to, and _work_ at. Perhaps he was losing his mind?

Or, perhaps, he was finally _finding_ it.

Studying with the Emerald Girl (for he'd decided that just plain 'green' wasn't a flattering enough description of her) became increasingly fun. She'd been impressed with his notes, editing very little, and then copying most of it verbatim into their project. (She didn't tell him, but she'd re-read the sections he'd gotten notes from, making sure he hadn't simply copied his work, and been surprised to find that he had actually paraphrased in his own words) It seemed he had passed his first test, and she deemed him worthy of study time.

It wasn't as if she didn't get frusterated with him. Sometimes, his brain would simply give up, and she could have been speaking another language for all he could retain. "But," he reminded her, "if you can teach it, it means you know it really well. It can't hurt to know all of this really well."

As time progressed, Fiyero learned faster and faster, now using his brain for the first time ever. He realized it was like using a muscle. Then, he realized that he _realized_ something. Having smarts was kind of fun. And the faster they worked through chapters, the more time he could take to try to maneuvre information about Elphaba out of her. She hated winter - not only because it rained so much, but because she was always jealous of everyone playing in the snow. She claimed that she didn't have a favourite colour, but, it turned out, she liked blue, red and purple, all of which she believed looked awful on her. Fiyero, upon hearing her admit that, had held his arm up near her face, and studied the royal blue of his coat next to her skin. Shaking his head, he'd told her she was wrong, to which she'd turned away and changed the subject.

She wanted desperately to write a book about Animals, filled with evidence that they were just as entitled to rights as humans, but found it impossible to come across unbiased reference texts. She'd heard there were books, years ago, full of scientific fact about Animals, but that they'd been banned and burned as more and more people started to believe that Animals were to be "seen and not heard".

It was as if, once he got her talking, she found it hard to stop. Nobody had ever asked her about her hopes and dreams, her preferences, her opinions. She would always inevitably realize she was sharing too much, and clamp her mouth shut, refusing to say anything more.

Time without Elphaba passed slowly, with Galinda Time passing slowest of all. With his new skill at thinking developing every day, school was bearable - he was actually passing all his courses, and doing well in some of them. But Galinda had become increasingly tiresome, though he found her endearing. She was precious, like a kitten, but Fiyero wondered if he should equate his girlfriend to a pet, and knew that he shouldn't.

But, then, when she would look up at him, with her beautiful blue eyes sparkling, and a rosy flush to her cheeks, he'd feel that same attraction to her, and be happy that she was so clearly the Perfect Ten of girlfriends, and force himself to realize he _did_ care about her. After all, they were both perfect - they were perfect together.

Galinda was mostly oblivious to the changes going on in her boyfriend, though she did notice that he was paying attention in school, and that he seemed to be...she couldn't believe it..._thinking_ more. He'd start sentences with, "So I was thinking..." or "The other day I was thinking about..." It was horrificating. What if people heard?

Eventually, people heard. But, to Galinda's surprise, she overheard a girl commenting, "That Fiyero Tiggular is brauny _and_ brainy!! How dreamy!" Galinda made a mental note to thank Elphaba for tutoring Fiyero - there was nothing better than dating someone who everyone liked, even if she _did_ find his new thoughts a little offputting.

"Elphie," Galinda said one night, as Elphaba was reading and Galinda was flipping through gossip magazines and mentally taking note of scandalacious outfits and affairs. She had seen a picture of Fiyero, reading, and felt that strange urge to cry. The caption underneath had said basically what the girl who called him dreamy had - that a good-looking guy who was reading was a _catch_. There was more, but Galinda's pretty blonde head was spinning.

Elphaba didn't look up from her book.

"Elphie!"

"What?"

"Fiyero's in my magazine," Galinda said.

"So? He's always in those magazines."

"He's...he's..._reading_," Galinda said, as if it were a picture of him snorting cocaine off his secret mistress.

"Seriously?" Elphaba's attention was caught, and she got up off her bed to join Galinda on hers.

"Ya-huh, look right here," Galinda said, pointing a perfectly-manicured finger at the photo. Elphaba noted that Fiyero was leaning back in a chair, looking relaxed, reading a book that (according to the close-up bubble) was called "A History of History".

"I love that book," Elphaba said wondrously.

"Then YOU read it!"

"I did...then I lent it to your boyfriend."

"WHAT?"

Elphaba sat stock still, feeling guilty. Galinda looked at her friend as if she'd admitted to getting Fiyero arrested, or, worse, doing something to make him ugly. "Well, he seemed interested in it. Let me see that," Elphaba said, taking the magazine from her friend.

He looked just like he always did, with the exception of the book. "Look at how good he looks, Galinda," Elphaba said, trying to find something good about the situation. "I bet you helped him pick that outfit, it's perfect. At least he's not sitting there looking scraggly. He's typical Fiyero, he just happens to be reading." Galinda wasn't swayed. "Look, look what it says under the photo." Galinda shook her head, her blonde curls bouncing like a chandelier during an earthquake. Sighing, Elphaba decided to dictate. "It says...'We love a man with brains and braun, and Prince Fiyero Tiggular, of the Vinkus, seems to have both in spades! Pictured here outside a local café, the stunning prince no doubt uses his assets to impress girlfriend Galinda Upland (of the UpperUplands), (not pictured) who he's been steady with since he began at Shiz University. Upland (of the UpperUplands) is well-known for being popular, beautiful, and, above all, the goodliest girl in all of Shiz.'"

Elphaba thought it was disgusting, but Galinda perked up immediately. "It mentioned me? Even though I wasn't in the picture? OOOOHHHHHH!!" And with that, Elphaba returned to her reading, and Galinda ripped the picture out of her magazine and taped it to the wall, then began to read the rest of her magazines. Moments later, there was a knock at the door. Galinda bounced up to get it (for it had to be for her- nobody ever called for Elphaba) and sure enough, it was Fiyero.

"Fiyero," Galinda bubbled. "I was just looking at a picture of you in a magazine. You were reading, but that's okay," she said, forgiving him.

Fiyero seemed a little uneasy. "Oh yeah? What magazine?"

"Ummm..." Galinda pranced over the her little stack and picked up the one she had relegated to the bottom of the pile. "Rattle Tattle," she said.

"Oh, cool," Fiyero said, glancing at Elphaba. "I was thinking I could take you to dinner, Galinda. What do you think?"

"Fiyero, this is not enough time in advance!"

"You look great, no matter what. Just...come on, let me take you to dinner."

"Let him, Galinda," Elphaba murmured, not looking up from her reading.

Galinda looked at her friend, then, after contemplating for a moment, disappeared into the bathroom to begin primping. Fiyero immediately moved to her stack of tabloids and started sorting through it. Elphaba watched him curiously, and, seeing that he pulled one out, furrowed her brow at him.

"Hide this," he hissed, handing it to Elphaba.

"Why?"

"Because she'd hit the roof," Fiyero whispered, glancing at the bathroom door.

"Why?"

"Elphaba -"

"_Master Tiggular,_ I won't cover for you if you're in here doing something behind my best friend's back," Elphaba said.

"You should, I'm doing it with you."

Elphaba's jaw dropped, then she regained her composure. "That's impossible," she snapped. "We haven't done anything wrong."

Fiyero flipped through the magazine until he found the page, then held it out to Elphaba. There was a picture of him reading outside the café, much like the one Galinda had found in Rattle Tattle, but, next to it was a picture of Elphaba herself carrying to same volume. And, below those two pictures, was a snapshot of Elphaba and Fiyero walking together, having an animated conversation. Elphaba was smiling, and gesturing, and Fiyero was laughing. They were looking at each other. They were walking in step. They were walking in step, looking at each other, and they were close together. Below the photos was an article, which Elphaba dared not take the time to read. Above the photos, and, probably the only thing Galinda would _bother_ to read, was the headline PRINCE FIYERO - WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?

Elphaba rammed the magazine under her pillow, and then turned her attention back to her book, a furious flush heating her face. Fiyero stood in the middle of the room, wanting to talk to Elphaba, especially about how the magazine was cruel, and how he was sorry, and that she shouldn't listen, but remained silent, watching her read resolutely.

After Fiyero and Galinda had left for their impromptu date, Elphaba pulled the magazine out and, trembling, read the article.

_If you were a handsome prince, how much of your time would you devote to reading, and why? When recent photos surfaced of Prince Fiyero Tiggular, of the Vinkus, reading outside a café, we couldn't help but remember the book, "A History of History", he seemed so engrossed in. But where had we seen it? Then we remembered: we had seen it in the arms of one Miss Elphaba Thropp, a student at Shiz University. The two seem to be spending an awful lot of time together, as pictured above. Sources at the university say that Miss Thropp is known for, among other things, being a serious student. Mister Tiggular's girlfriend, Miss Galinda Upland (of the UpperUplands), however, is not. So why borrow a book from another woman, and read it? Who is he trying to impress: his lovely girlfriend, or her strange green room mate? And why in Oz should we be asking this question when the answer should be obvious?_

_No word yet on how Miss Upland (of the UpperUplands) is handling this blow._

It could have been worse, when it came to her. They could have torn into her a lot more. But it was not the best press Galinda had ever received, and Elphaba was sure that her room mate would be heartbroken by it. Maybe she wouldn't see the magazine?


	3. Questions

Galinda had no choice but to see the magazine. People held it out to her everywhere she went, asking her how she felt about it, how it felt to be replaced by a human frog. Galinda, though she hated to hear Elphaba be compared to a reptile (or whatever a frog was), found herself wondering how it _had _happened. Photographers and writers weren't allowed on school grounds - the photo of Elphaba and Fiyero together had been snapped somewhere else. Why would they be together somewhere else?

To make matters worse, she knew she'd bought that issue, but couldn't seem to find it. She wanted to read it privately, and analyze everything about it, and cry about it, and couldn't be seen purchasing it _now._ Everyone would talk and stare! ...More than they already were.

Galinda was sitting glumly in her room when Elphaba returned from the library. She and Fiyero weren't studying together, because it would be plain foolish and insensitive, and she felt like she'd failed to achieve the same amount of studying as she had of late. Neither room mate was in a particularly grand mood.

Elphaba blanched at the sight of Galinda - not only because she wasn't smiling, but because she wasn't _moving_. Galinda was always bouncing, hopping, preening, fussing. But she was just sitting there, now. Galinda looked up at her room mate and couldn't decide how to feel, so she just looked back down at the floor.

"Galinda, we're just friends," Elphaba blurted, feeling beyond ridiculous. She never thought she'd have to explain to _anyone_ that someone didn't like her, shouldn't it be obvious that nobody ever would? Beyond that, Galinda was the type of girl who others would walk through fire for. Elphaba was the type of girl they'd push _into_ the fire, in their hurry to walk through it for Galinda.

Galinda sniffled, tears welling up in her eyes again.

"Galinda, you can't honestly believe what that trashy -" Elphaba realized she was insulting Galinda's only reading material, and rephrased. "Galinda, magazines make up stories to sell copies. I know it's embarassing, especially because they're suggesting you could be left for _me_, which is absurd. But I promise it's not true. Fiyero and I study together. He sees me as a walking, talking encyclopedia."

Only a few months ago, this would have perked Galinda up, but, now, it only made her cry harder. "Elphie," she sobbed, "don't say such horrificious things about yourself!"

Elphaba hasn't even noticed that she'd been putting herself down. She was just relating fact to Galinda. "Okay, I'm sorry. But you know Fiyero loves you," she soothed, gently. Never in her life had Elphaba taken time to comfort anyone. It was she who mostly deserved to be comforted.

"Do I? Do I know that Fiyero loves me?"

Galinda had never doubted herself before, and Elphaba hadn't thought it was possible for Galinda to doubt a man's affection for her.

"Of course he does," Elphaba murmured. "Everyone does."

"Well, everyone who loves me has a funny way of showing it," Galinda pouted. "They wave that magazine in my face as I walk by. And, did you know, Elphie, I _bought_ that magazine. And now I can't find it. I can't very well be seen going to purchasing it _now!" _ Galinda paused. "I just want to know what it says, so that I can know what everyone's talking on."

Guiltily, Elphaba got up and went over to her bed. After reading the article, she had moved the magazine to the safer location of Under her Mattress. As she pulled it out, Galinda gasped.

"You took my magazine? Elphaba, that's stealing!" Elphaba sighed patiently, waiting for Galinda to realize the BIGGER issue with Elphaba taking her magazine. Galinda gasped again, and Elphaba braced herself. "You took that one on purpose! You knew what was in there!"

Galinda flew at Elphaba, hands fluttering in useless little slaps that almost tickled. Elphaba would have laughed if she didn't feel so bad. "Alright, truce," she finally announced. "I hoped you'd just never see it, because it would get you all upset over a big, stupid lie."

Galinda couldn't even find the words to say to express her anger at her friend. _Sure_ that her friend's hiding the magazine had something to do with something bad, something horrificious, she grabbed the fluttering book of glossy papers out of her friend's green hand and stomped out of the room, off to find Fiyero...

...And complain about Elphaba to him.

"...And she _hid_ it from me! On purpose! There must be something going on with her if she's _stealing_ things from me and being decepticative! I just can't believe her, Fiyero, I really can't!"

Fiyero shifted with discomfort. "She was just trying to protect you."

That funny Munchkin boy, Boq, stalked by and glared at Fiyero, who shrugged. Galinda didn't notice.

"How do _you_ know? I think I know my little green room mate a little better than you do, _despite_ the time you two seem to be spending together!"

"Well, clearly, you don't. Because Elphaba never has any intent to hurt or decieve you. You're her best friend, and she's ferociously protective of you, and loyal to you." Galinda just stared at Fiyero, who looked angry and tired. Before she could say anything, he added, "And she's not _green,_ she's _emerald_. It's just nicer."

"Fiyero, have you completely lost your senses?" Galinda was feeling a little steamed at _him_, now. "I come to you, in my darkest hour, because Elphaba is lying to me and taking my things, and you get all high and mighty and say all these things...?" Galinda was too confusified to continue.

"Well, it's only fair, seeing as how _I'm_ the one who told her to hide that wretched crap magazine of yours," he spat back. "For the same reason Elphaba agreed to do it: to protect you, or try to. In fact, she originally didn't want to, and said she wouldn't cover for me if I had been photographed doing something bad in there. Then, when she saw the article, she hid it. So, be mad at me."

Galinda couldn't bring herself to be mad at Fiyero, not about that. It was as if her anger had hit a brick wall, and could proceed no further. She was barely capable of being frusterated with him, mostly because he was so unbelievably handsome. "I'm not mad at you, I can't be," she said, trying to sound perky. "I'm just upset that the story was printed at all. Oh, I should go apologize to Elphie! Come with me?"

Fiyero was mindboggled by the ease with which Galinda switched moods, but decided not to press his luck, and nodded in compliance. Fiyero and Galinda made their way down the hallway. A student passed, calling, "Forgiven him for cheating on you with the human frog?"

"Elphaba is not a reptile!" Galinda barked, in as goodly a way as a person can bark.

"Amphibian," Fiyero whispered.

"What?"

"A frog is an amphibian. Elphaba is not an amphibian."

"Well, she's not that, either," Galinda said, pausing to look beseechingly into Fiyero's eyes. Fiyero nodded in the direction of the student who had heckled them, and Galinda realized what was going on. "Elphaba is _not_ an AMPHIBIAN!" she called at the now-faraway student. She gave a proud little nod, and they continued on their way back to the dorm.

"Elphieeeee, I'm sooo sorrryyyyyyyy!!"

Elphaba twitched at this extremely high-pitched and drawn-out greeting, and Fiyero chuckled. Galinda wrapped her arms around Elphaba's waist, and Fiyero noted that Elphaba could easily rest her chin on the top of Galinda's pretty blonde head, if she wanted to.

Stiff as a board, Elphaba endured the hug, then flopped down onto her bed and reached for a book the moment she was released.

"Elphie! You can't reeeeeead!"

Elphaba squinched her eyes shut, wishing her room mate was a little quieter. She dared a look at Fiyero, who seemed to be lost in thought about something, and felt that strange feeling of falling really fast rush through her. It happened far too often for her liking.

She had recently realized that she'd avoided Fiyero for a reason, and that reason had found her.

Pushing thoughts of the handsome young man from her mind, she looked at Galinda. "So, you're sorry?"

Maybe if they got into a fight, Fiyero would go.

"Fiyero explained that it was _his_ idea, to hide the magazine. Of _course_ you were just trying to protect me!! I feel so foolish!" Elphaba realized she couldn't be unreasonable and start a fight over _that_, so she simply gave a small smile and reached for her book once more. "And, I want you two to keep studying together," Galinda announced.

"Why?" Elphaba felt like she was sinking.

"Because you're miserable when you're not being challenged," Galinda said. "And I'm miserable when you're miserable. It's the goodly thing to do, to keep you happy, and to make sure Fiyero gets a good education."

Fiyero would have argued that it wasn't Galinda's place to oversee his academic career, but the idea of studying with Elphaba again silenced him. He really did _miss_ her, which should have surprised him, but didn't. She was a nice girl, a little prickly at first, but nice, and interesting. She certainly brought out the best in him.

Winter came upon them fast and furious, with Elphaba growing surly and and incoherent when it rained - drawing a large cloak around her and peering out at the weather bitterly. Fiyero took to carrying her books for her, which she refused to allow at first, but after an incident in which she almost had to choose between dropping her books in a puddle or keeping herself dry, she relented. Luckily, she'd caught her balance without losing grip on either her cloak or books. But Fiyero insisted on helping her from then on, which always made Elphaba flush furiously.

He was actually a really wonderful person, especially now that he was using his brain on a regular basis. Elphaba had been content to think of him as stupid, boarish, and foul-smelling, but she knew that he was, in fact, quite intelligent, gentlemanly, and smelled like... Elphaba didn't even know if there was anything out there that smelled as good.

Fiyero continued to date Galinda, who continued to be the exact opposite of Elphaba, who continued to pretend everything was fine. Galinda, who cared about her friend, and wanted her to be as happy as she and Fiyero were, was determined to "socialize" her room mate.

"Elphie," she said one evening. "...How about a double date with Fiyero and I?"

"That is the most ridiculous thing anyone has ever suggested I do."

Galinda stuck out her lower lip a little and scowled prettily at her friend. "Elphie, it might be fun!"

"No, it won't. Besides, good luck finding anyone who would want to double with _me._"

"Maybe Fiyero knows someone," Galinda suggested feebly.

"Doubtful," Elphaba snorted.

Fiyero had tons of acquaintances, if not real friends. He never really had _real friends_. But fixing Elphaba up with someone was tricky - there were guys who would go, but they'd go on a lark, or out of morbid curiosity. Also, he didn't really want to watch Elphaba date somebody, especially right in front of him. "I... What did Elphaba say?"

"She said no, of course. But only because she doesn't think anyone would want to," Galinda said.

"Well... She's sort of right," Fiyero mumbled. "I mean, we know her, and we like her, because we see who she truly is, but most people... They're just small-minded."

Galinda knew Fiyero was right, but she couldn't help but feel there was something amuck with Elphaba having no one to hold hands with, to be held by, to kiss. Had Elphaba even ever _been_ kissed? Probably not.

If only there was some way of, well, _tricking_ her. Or, making it so that her date was really special, or... Just then, Galinda's eyes settled on a poster for the Winter Ball, a fundraiser for one of the Wizard's charities - orphans, or puppies or some such thing. Girls could volunteer to be auctioned off as escorts for the evening. Galinda was planning on doing it, because she was goodly, and because Fiyero could afford to pay to win her.

Perhaps Elphaba's name could find its way onto that list?


	4. Auction

"I will never submit to something as archaic and pretentious and -"

"Alright, alright," Galinda had surrendered. "Only it's for a really good cause! And you want to meet to Wizard, and he probably knows who volunteers to help at these things."

"I will meet the Wizard on my own merits, thank you very much."

"Well then your own mertis need to help me pick a dress," Galinda informed her.

Elphaba rapidly collected her bookbag and her book and exited the dorm.

The night of the ball, Fiyero found himself a little blue. All of his life he'd mostly been happy, "happy-go-lucky" was the phrase. Parties had never made him depressed, but, looking around at all his classmates, he found himself wishing he was having a quiet dinner with his friends.

When the time came to bid on girls, Galinda was near the end of the lineup. A lot of men had been waiting for her, but other girls had been auctioned off ("like cattle," Elphaba had spat when she'd heard the plan) readily and steadily throughout the evening. Because he'd been informed that nobody but him was to dance with her, and that this was to occur by any means necessary, Fiyero obediently and diligently outbid everyone else (including a rather disappointed Boq, who once again glared at Fiyero, who once again shrugged) and won the hand of Galinda Upland (of the UpperUplands) for that evening's ball.

Despite the fact that it made his girlfriend happy, Fiyero couldn't shake the notion that, if she were to witness him doing so, the image of Fiyero bidding on a woman as if she were property would forever undo any of the good favour he'd managed to fall in with Elphaba. That fact disturbed him only slightly, and not half so much as the realization that disturbing her disturbed him. He had almost succeeded in pushing the Emerald girl from his mind when she was suddenly in front of him.

Elphaba Thropp, up for auction.

It seemed to Fiyero like a cruel joke, to auction off a girl most people wouldn't look at unless they were gaping in horror at the emerald skin he tended to find endearing (on his most stubborn of days) and downright sensual (on the days he let himself admit that Elphaba had a way of speeding his heart up a little). He couldn't understand how it had come to be that she was available, but he was, blindly, ready to start bidding on her when Galinda appeared at his side, flushed with pride at how much money she'd personally raised.

"Fiyero, thanks ever so much for - OH! Elphie's up!" Galinda prattled.

"Yeah...why is she being auctioned off, anyway? She seemed disgusted by it."

"Oh she is, believe you me!" Galinda said. "But there was a last-minute cancellation, a girl got sick, and the only person who had no plans for this evening happened to be my anti-social, neo-feminist, brains over beauty room mate. Of course, she was threatened with suspension before she relentimated. Oooohhh look how she glows under the twinkling lights!!"

If Elphaba was glowing any more than usual, it was probably a light line of sweat due to nausea, Fiyero guessed. In his mind's eye, he could picture her reacting to the news that she had to participate in this "barbaric, chauvenistic slaughter of women's independance" (he loved her way with words) by simply keeling over and vomiting, perhaps on the shoes of one Madame Morrible. He would've chuckled to himself if, out of nowhere, a bid had been called by a voice he knew would make Elphaba's blood run cold.

"Master Avaric," Morrible purred. "Thank you. Do we have any other bids?"

Fiyero looked around him for anyone, ANYONE, he could lend money to in order to outbid Avaric. He didn't care what the cost was - he knew that, despite wanting to be out of the spotlight as quickly as possible, Elphaba would be moritfied at being snapped up by the most crude of her taunters. She'd rather endure the tedious bidding, under the scrutinous eyes of her peers, than be sold off to Avaric. Unfortunately, everywhere Fiyero looked, he found men already paired up with women.

He gazed at her helplessly, though she could not see him in the dark crowd, with those lights blinding her.

"Fiyero, do you like my dress?"

Galinda's voice seemed far away. "It's beautiful, Galinda. You look amazing," Fiyero replied mechanically, by habit, not tearing his eyes from Elphaba. Galinda, who was ruffling her many layers of ruffles, was looking down at her dress and didn't notice.

_Don't sell her to him. It's not right. It's not right. It's not -_

"...Alright, then, SOLD, to Master Avaric, one Miss Elphaba Thropp," Morrible's unforgiving voice rang out. Avaric made his way over to Fiyero and Galinda, giving them a look that said he wasn't surprised the Prince had won his Princess.

Avaric was a fairly bearable guy, when he wasn't drinking. But tonight, it was clear that he _had been._ It didn't bode well for Elphaba.

"Hey kids," he said, a satsfied smirk on his face, "missed the beginning of the party in favour of a pretty giggly girl...Good thing I did, eh? Might've missed my chance to dance with -"

At that moment, Elphaba appeared at his side, horrified. He wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her to him, and Fiyero felt his pulse jump. She wasn't someone who took kindly to being touched, much less encircled around the neck, much less by someone who let the hand of the arm he was holding her with hang dangerously close to her breast. Elphaba stiffened and moved to pull away, but at that moment, Madame Morrible (the Horrible) floated by with a "Ms Thropp, good to see you earning your place in class. Dance with Master Avaric, it's only polite to show him a good time," that made Fiyero's blood boil. As if Avaric needed any encouragement to feel entitled to "a good time".

"Oooh, let's dance!" Galinda breathed, excited about being the belle of the ball.

"Yes, let's," Avaric sneered.

With that, he dragged Elphaba onto the floor and placed his hands on her waist and pulled her close. A few feet away, Fiyero watched as Avaric continually tested Elphaba's boundaries: sliding his hands around, lower, and higher, touching her face, leaning in to whisper in her ear, pressing his body against hers. With a sort of half-jealousy, half-dumbfoundment, he wondered why she simply didn't push him away. She couldn't have been so afraid of being suspended - she had, after all, allowed for herself to be mercilessly auctioned off in front of everyone. That had to be where she drew the line.

But it was only when he thought back to the time he'd spent with Elphaba recently that Fiyero knew what it had to be. The two had gotten so used to each other, so comfortable, that he tended to know what she was thinking, how she was feeling, how much of his persistently annoying questioning she could handle. They could share a book, and sit close to each other without her constantly jerking away, could hand each other a pencil and allow their fingers to touch without any worry that she might accidentally stab him with it (though now when they seemed to touch, it was as if they were caught doing something they were not supposed to do, though neither wanted to dwell on that idea for very long). The Elphaba he was now used to wasn't rigid, wasn't afraid, wasn't protective of her personal space. It had happened so subtley, he'd barely registered the change, or taken the time to realize she was only that comfortable with him. But now, watching her stiff posture and the almost pained look on her face, Fiyero saw it: fear. She was, for some reason that escaped the prince, afraid of Avaric.

"She's miserable," he found himself muttering helplessly. "She's terrified. Oz, how she hates to share her space."

"Who? What?" Galinda asked, reminding him that he was, in fact, swaying in time to the music with his girlfriend.

"Oh...uh...I just caught a glimpse of Elphaba. She doesn't look too impressed," he said, trying to sound casual. ("Caught a glimpse", he mocked himself. "If you stared any harder, she might explode.")

"You're so kind to check up on my friend for me," Galinda started gushing, when Avaric had the audacity to forcibly bring Elphaba's hips to his by sliding his hand over her behind with one arm, and gropingly reaching up her front with another. She struggled, but to no avail. She shook her head, Fiyero could see her saying "No, let go of me, leave me alone," but nobody was on her side and Avaric was brutishly bigger than she.

"That's it," Fiyero bellowed. In two strides, after hastily launching Galinda from him, Fiyero was at Elphaba's side, and pulled her from Avaric's grasp.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Avaric asked. "One girl not good enough for you? Have to have them all?"

"You went too far," Fiyero said, not releasing his grasp on Elphaba's arm, and pulling her behind him a little.

"Are you her mommy, now, or something?" Avaric taunted.

There were a few beats when Fiyero didn't say anything, and Avaric, displaying the only wavelength his brain functioned on, immediately turned the topic over to sex. "Noooo, no you're not her _mommy_," he drawled. "You're into her. Did the tabloids get it right for once? Having some fun on the side with the Lizard Queen?" he asked. "Galinda just a little too sunshine and rainbows for you, a little too innocent? Needed a little bit of the dark side to tide you over, eh..."

From behind him, Elphaba said softly, "Let it be, Fiyero. I know it hurts to hear him insult Galinda like that, but let it be."

Fiyero guiltily realized he hadn't heard any offense to Galinda in Avaric's statement, though clearly, it was there, in the insinuation that he would be unfaithful to her, that she wasn't enough for him.

"I guess there are some things you'd only do to a woman who couldn't afford any standards. Some ways to satisfy your more...animalistic urges."

With that, Fiyero drew back and punched Avaric so hard one could almost hear the crunch over the music. A pain unlike any he'd ever felt now throbbed in his hand to match the one in his heart, but rage quickly drowned out both.

Avaric, who'd been thrown back a little by the blow to his face, flew back into a standing position, and, weighing his options, decided to lunge out and grab Elphaba, and began to drag her away.

By this point, a rather large crowd had noticed the goings on, and so they attempted to crowd around Avaric as he made his escape, blocking Fiyero from grabbing Elphaba back. He pursued them out of the hall, but the throngs of people played to Avaric's advantage, and he had a head start, despite Elphaba's struggles to escape from his grasp. Being defended like that (if only minorly, after all, it was in Galinda's honour that Fiyero would've thrown that punch) had eliminated Elphaba's fear and she fought Avaric's barbaric nature with a renewed fervour.

"Elphaba!" she heard Fiyero shout.

"It's alright, I'm almost-" she hollered back, but the word "free" died in her throat as she realized where Avaric was dragging her. He wasn't just jerking her around, maybe to take her somewhere and hit her, maybe fondle her again.

He was dragging her right toward a large pond.


	5. Rescue

She felt her knees buckle at the sight of it - so much water. It was then that most of the crowd stopped, confused. Some knew of the girl's aversion to water, but most did not. Fiyero, however, kept moving, until he, too, saw that sight.

It was as if his stomach had dropped into his knees. There was no way Avaric would sink that low, he thought to himself, stumbling, attempting to put one foot in front of the other as the pair ahead of him drew ever closer to Elphaba's most feared enemy.

"Don't," he called, his voice weak with worry. He cleared his throat and tried again. "That's crossing a line even you should be loathe to cross, Avaric," Fiyero said.

"You fucked with the wrong guy, _prince._"

"Listen, I'm sorry for hitting you..." Fiyero was only sorry he hadn't hit him hard enough to knock him unconscious. He stepped gingerly toward Elphaba and Avaric, who were now at the water's edge. Elphaba's eyes darted between the water beside her and Fiyero. "But let's be reasonable here -"

To this, Avaric responded by holding Elphaba out over the water. She whimpered ever so slightly, which brought a look of pleasure to Avaric's face.

Fiyero loathed him. "Just let her go...do what you want with me, I don't care -"

"You're soooo noble," Avaric snarled.

"I'm not. I'm just...please," Fiyero asked.

Avaric seemed to ponder this for a moment, then, with a shrug, went to pull Elphaba back away from the edge to safety. But at the last moment, he pushed her, then caught her arms as she struggled to maintain her balance on the edge of the pond. Avaric laughed, mocking the fear on her face with a look of clownish fear plastered on his own.

"Oh Oz, it's disgusting just being near her, let alone touching her, I think I'll let go," he said.

Those words induced a panic in Elphaba so inescapable she fainted, and it was only because Fiyero had continued to make his way toward the pair that the prince leapt out and caught Elphaba when her shift in body weight threw Avaric. He lost his balance and went head-first into the water, while Fiyero clutched Elphaba to him and sank to his knees, then tugged her body right up close to his. He sat, cross-legged, and pulled her into a ball in his lap, feeling the terror of that close call come crashing in on him in the form of minor hyperventilation. It was then that Galinda burst through the crowd and ran to be at Elphaba's side.

"Oh, Elphie -" she started to whimper, as she reached out a hand to touch her friend's now-pale green face.

"Don't touch her!" Fiyero barked, before realizing there was no reason for that to be an order. "...I'm sorry, I..."

Galinda, though hurt, forced herself to be goodly and think only of her friend. "I brought Madame Morrible," she said quietly. "I'll need to talk about how he knows she's allergic to water and how I saw everything..."

"Good idea," Fiyero mumbled, distracted. He dropped his head and rested his forehead on top of Elphaba's head for a moment, exhaling, then lifted his face again and rested his chin on her instead.

"She'll be alright, I think," Galinda said, somehow suspecting that her boyfriend shouldn't be quite this concerned about her friend.

"I know...I hope she comes to soon," Fiyero said, tilting his head to look down at Elphaba's face.

At this moment, a few teachers walked by dragging Avaric, keeping him out of range to get any water on Elphaba. Fiyero looked up at him as he passed, shaking his head.

"Green and now a vegetable," Avaric taunted.

"The next time I see you..." Fiyero started to threaten.

"Miss Galinda, your statement, please?" Madame Morrible, who had a knack for interrupting, requested. "I have sent for a nurse," she said, after taking in the sight of this prince from the Vinkus still clutching the most outcast girl in the entire school.

Fiyero nodded, but was still unready and unable to surrender her care to anyone. He imagined her waking up in the infirmary, nobody around because Galinda needed beauty rest and he, as a member of the opposite sex, would not be allowed to stay. It was then that Elphaba stirred, and Fiyero pressed his lips to the top of her head, kissing her hair, and then breathed a "Shhh", and stood, pulling her to her feet as well. He briefly wondered why he'd just kissed her, but told himself it was a comforting thing to do, and that Elphaba probably wasn't even aware of it.

Elphaba hadn't noticed the kiss. "What's...I - We..." she tried.

"I'm taking you with me." Fiyero told her.

"Where?"

"Somewhere safe," was all he would say.


	6. Realizations

His dorm room was large and he shared with no one, as befitting a prince. Fiyero made his way through the dark to his bed, and placed Elphaba on the edge, where she weakly sat, lacking even a hundredth of her usual strength. This half of the room was close enough to the window for moonlight to spill in, but she didn't bother taking in her surroundings.

"You'll need some sort of night robe," he muttered, and, with that, went to his drawers to find a long shirt of some sort, and finally returned with a rich brown one and an old pair of short sleeping trousers that he mostly wore when he desperately needed a load of wash done and no one was around to do it for him. He handed her the clothing, and sent her in the direction of the washroom just off his bedroom. "Put these on," he said, as if he told her what to do all the time.

She turned to make her way to the washroom, then stopped. "Why?" she asked. Clearly, she was feeling a little better.

"Because you're not sleeping in your dress, and I didn't stop at your dorm to get your nightclothes, and you're staying here, and you can't sleep naked," he answered authoritatively, ignoring the niggling desire in the back of his brain (and elsewhere) for her to, in fact, sleep very naked.

"Uhhmmmm..." Elphaba tried to take this in. "No, I'm going back to my dorm."

"No, you're not."

It was so simple in his mind, though Fiyero couldn't quite put a finger on why, that Elphaba should stay with him tonight. Though Avaric was undoubtedly being questioned, it wouldn't be for long, and the idea of Elphaba slumbering peacefully while Avaric plotted revenge was enough to make Fiyero try to think of excuses for her to never leave his side again. He knew he wouldn't sleep for worry about her, he knew he'd only feel sure she was safe if he could see her, and he couldn't envision any other way to assure that than to have her simply stay with him.

"Have you completely lost your senses, Fiyero Tiggular?" Elphaba spat at him. "Do you think it's at all appropriate for me to be here? Forget the fact that you're dating my best friend - you're a man. Or forget the fact that you're a man - you're dating my best friend."

Being called a man by Elphaba had a strangely intoxicating effect on Fiyero.

"We're just sleeping," he fumbled weakly, ashamed that, since being called a man, he was now picturing manly things he could do to her. Why couldn't she have called him a horseradish?

"No, we're not." She said. "I'll have no part of this. I wish to answer to neither the school nor my room mate, as small as she may be. She has her means of torture. She tried to do my hair once."

To that, Fiyero felt his face crease into a generous smile. Elphaba took this moment to try to move past him, but he caught her arms. She attempted to remove them, crushing the hand Fiyero had used earlier to punch Avaric, and eliciting a gasp of pain from Fiyero.

"What?" Elphaba asked, and now, feeling like she had no bearings in this dark, strange room, she reached for a lightswitch. When her fumbling hand finally found one, she looked down at her other hand, still clutching Fiyero's bloody one, and inhaled sharply.

"Fiyero..." her face collapsed into worry instantly, and she tenderly adjusted her hand so that she held his arm at the wrist, and brought his hand up near her eyes for closer inspection.

"I don't think it's broken," he said, wiggling his fingers, "I can move all my fingers."

"You shouldn't have - " but she stopped herself, reminding herself that men did chivalrous things for their girlfriends.

"He went too far. I couldn't listen to him say those things about you," Fiyero said, determined.

Confused, Elphaba looked at Fiyero, studying his facial expression. He was studying his hand, gently cradled in her hand, and so she had a few moments to take in his genuine need to defend her honour, and how the memory of those words etched a blatant pain across the prince's handsome face.

Nobody had ever defended her, not really. It stirred something in her so instantaneously she couldn't quell it, despite her alarm at realizing what was happening. He chose this of all moments to look up at her and meet her gaze, and there he found her eyes glassy with tears.

"Elphie -" he said, to which she exhaled hopelessly, wondering if he was next going to give her a magic de-greenifying potion and a castle of her very own filled with books. He was too much for her, really, defending her honour and then calling her Elphie with the most tenderness anyone had ever mustered up for her. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," she said, frusterated that she was so emotional. Usually she had better mastery of these things. "I just...nobody has ever stood up for me. It's quite unexpected." He just looked at her, confused as to why she was reacting to it _now_; she wasn't usually slow on the uptake. "I had assumed your punching him was in retaliation to what he'd said about Galinda," she said. "Not that it shouldn't be," she added quickly, flustered, "And not that I think you like me more or something, or that - Oh, damn," she cursed.

He chuckled. "You'd better get changed for bed."

"What about your hand?"

"It will still look like that when you've changed." She met his eyes defiantly, but found a calm resolve in his gaze. "I won't be able to sleep, wondering if that asshole is threatening you," he said, playing to her weakness for people caring about her. It struck him how little anyone must have cared for her at all in order to get such a reaction from her for a simple thrown punch, though he'd never had to resort to violence before, nor had he felt the need to. It was, indeed, the first time he'd ever been so enraged over the mistreatment of a girl - _woman_, he corrected himself - that he'd seen no other option but to break his fist on the person's face.

And with _that_ realization (though the others along the way should've been sufficient), Fiyero finally stopped denying to himself his feelings. He'd been making excuses for them - every man likes variety, and nothing was more opposite from Galinda than Elphaba; she had brains, and, thus, he felt for the first time like he may have some, too; she was, in her own Emerald way, a beautiful girl; she was passionate, and inspirational. It was so easy to get swept up in someone's passion, he had reasoned on the occaisions he had allowed himself to think of Elphaba. But now, for some reason, with the knowledge that he had hit Avaric for her (though Avaric mostly deserved to be hit in general), the young man was rocked with his acceptance of the fact that he was, in fact, falling for Elphaba.

Or, worse, that he had fallen for her long ago, and had not only been mentally unfaithful to his girlfriend, but wasted precious time he could have been spending with his true lo-

She was still standing before him, staring up at him just that couple inches between them in height difference, puzzled. "Please," he choked. "I can't begin to explain to you how terrified I am that you'll walk out that door." 'I can't explain to you how terrified I am that you'll walk out of my life', he thought.

"...If you're that worried..." Elphaba began to concede. "Though I don't see why," she added in a clipped tone. Elphaba turned to his bed, where she had put the clothes he had offered down before her attempt to flee. She walked to the bed, grabbed up the clothes, and walked silently into the bathroom.

Fiyero smiled broadly at her retreating back, relieved, and then, instantly, panicked again. He'd have to tie himself to the other side of the room to ignore the sleeping form of this woman, in his clothes, no less. Something about seeing her in his clothes excited Fiyero, like they could share space and books and clothing. And, someday, a life together.

When she re-emerged, he was struck by how amazing the brown looked against her skin, or, rather, how amazing her skin looked against the brown of the shirt. And his short sleeping trousers revealed shapely legs, which, he realized now, he'd never seen. Elphaba was so modest, and, he supposed, understandably so. He also noted that the clothes practically fit her, at least as well as they could considering sleeping garments are supposed to be a little oversized. He recalled vaguely an instance in which Galinda had spilled someething on a dress (and recalled _less_ vaguely the ridiculous fuss she'd made about it) and had borrowed a shirt of his. It had swam on her, but not like she had borrowed clothing from her lover, like she had borrowed clothing from her father. Galinda _was_ tiny, he realized. There was no physical balance to them at all.

"What?" Elphaba's sharp question stirred him out of his...thoughts. He was having so many lately. Embarassed, he realized he'd been staring at her form the entire time he'd been pondering.

"Sorry, I was just thinking..." he said

"How was it?" she asked.

So easily wounded by her now that he admitted he cared for her, he looked up, hoping to find that she was teasing him. Painfully, he recalled how brainless he'd been for so long around her, wondered if it had ruined his chances with her. He was sure a brain excited Elphaba more than riches, castles, or charm. Fortunately, a small smile was playing on her lips, a tender expression in her eyes, as if his thinking was their inside joke. Which, Fiyero realized, it almost was. He didn't show this side of himself to anyone else.

"Now what?" she asked, posed in the middle of the room, holding her dress in one hand and her shoes in the other.

Fiyero felt struck by her stillness. There was something about her that was like iron, from the core all the way out. She held herself with pride and with strength, and, while he wouldn't change her for anything, the idea that he could, perhaps, mold her, only a little, was tantalizing. Not to break her, not to expose her, but to be trusted by her, to have her yield to him enough to allow him into her heart and to allow him to hold her in his arms, that would be about his proudest achievement. Not that he'd ever achieved much, he thought wistfully.

"Sleep," he answered, moving to take her clothing from her, and then placing it on a chair.

"I'm a little tired," she said ponderfully.

"I am, too, and I wasn't almost murdered tonight," Fiyero replied.

That unnerved Elphaba. She'd had a faint notion that actually falling into a large pool of water could have done her more damage than she'd ever comprehended before, but at the time, she'd simply assumed her raging fear was of the pain she was sure to feel. She'd thought of Avaric's actions are impulsive and callous, and not unlike what she could expect from a brute such as he, but to hear it phrased as almost murder, well, that sent a shiver through her.

Suddenly she was very grateful she was sleeping in the presence of Fiyero tonight, lest she come to that conclusion later, as she was drifting off, and look around to find her only protector was Galinda, in sleeping mask and earplugs. How reassuring could a frilly pink pompom be? Elphaba smiled. "Thank you for having me here," she said.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

They both stood there awkwardly, until Fiyero reached out for her hand and led her to his bed, and Elphaba remembered again his hand. "Your hand," she said, "We have to -"

"Sleep, we have to sleep."

"But it's -"

"Healing," he finished for her, pulling back his soft sheets and sitting her down. When she simply sat still, gazing up at him, Fiyero's breath caught in his throat. She looked so inviting, especially in the moonlight. Especially with her hair in a looser braid, expecially out of the rigid clothing that usually covered her skin. And especially with all that skin showing. Determined to be respectful, as much as it was now killing him, he picked up her ankles and turned her by way of placing her feet up on the bed, and gently pushed on her shoulder until she was lying back against the pillows. Pulling the sheets and blankets up to her chin, he said softly, "There, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Elphaba shook her head, meekly, feeling the effects of this monstrous and infathomably comfortable sleeping setting. She'd never so much as _sat_ on a bed like this, and she found herself quite partial to it.

"Where will you sleep?" she asked drowsily.

"Ahhh...on that couch," he said, gesturing.

"That's hardly fair. Sleep here. I trust you," she mumbled.

If she'd been awake in any capacity, the 'T' word would've never slipped from her lips. It was one of her most sacred words, one she didn't throw around. Moving swiftly around to the other side of the bed, Fiyero didn't waste any time in which she could change her mind, and removed his shoes and jacket, and climbed onto the bed. How he wanted to crawl under the covers and pull her close, kiss her hair, her face, and hold her against him. But if she trusted him, he was going to do all in his power to retain that trust. Instead, he stayed on top of the sheets, and simply pulled the comforter over his legs. Afire with this emotion for Elphaba, Fiyero couldn't trap himself in any more layers, especially considering he usually slept in nothing, and this could shape up to be an unpleasantly stifling night of tossing and turning for him. She turned onto her right side and faced him, and was sleeping instantly.

"Elphie?" he asked softly, "You awake?" She barely stirred and murmured in response, and, satisfied, he placed his hand on her head and lightly thumbed her hair, tenderly, gently, savoring touching her, feeling the need to nurture her.

It was like this, him propped in a mostly sitting position and she, on her side and having reached out and placed a hand on his knee, that they slept, and woke the following morning.


	7. Loyalty

Elphaba was aware that something was different. For one thing, she felt better rested than she'd ever been, which she quickly attributed to the ordeal of the previous night (which came screaming back to her) and the softly luscious bed she now occupied (which she adjusted a little in, feeling the coziness of it envelope her). But, no, she thought, as her gaze found her hand resting on Fiyero's knee, and felt a light presence on her head, her sleep wasn't the only thing. She felt safe. It had never really occurred to her before that she wasn't safe elsewhere, but the feeling of being mostly alone in the world left her with an uneasy sense that she was vulnerable.

She was not vulnerable here. She looked up at the slumbering young man, his hair unruly, but a peaceful look on his face. That wouldn't last, she decided, when he awoke and felt the pain of having slept in that position. She recalled sleepily telling him to sleep next to her, but clearly he hadn't wanted to get too close. How could she have been so foolish? Inviting him to lie next to her, as if anyone in the universe would want to do that? Despite the consideration he'd shown for her the night before, Fiyero was still miles out of Elphaba's league. But then why was that the presence of his hand she felt on her head? She was acutely aware of the fact that his fingers were, in fact, _in_ her hair, not just resting on it.

Panic. That old feeling of panic started to rise, and she tried to wiggle her way away from him without waking him, but to no avail. When she'd guessed he hadn't slept well, she'd been right, but not only because, for the first time in his life, he'd had to try it in anything but generous surroundings, but because he'd had an ear open for any disturbance, and that included now, as her felt her slipping away from him. He woke with a start, and looked around, blinking in the light of day. He usually drew the curtains at night, but had been transfixed with watching her, grateful for enough time to stare without her turning her head or snapping "What?" at him, or both.

Was this how bright his room was in the morning? Or was it later than they both realized?

"Elphaba," he said, noting she was now halfway off his bed. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Back to my dorm," she answered. Struck by her desire to stay, her first impulse was to run.

"I'll walk you," he said.

"Really, that's unnecessary."

"I'll walk you," he repeated.

She yielded. "Uh... Oh, I should get dressed," she said, looking down at her form draped in Fiyero's clothing.

"That color looks good on you," Fiyero said before he could help it. He instantly knew a compliment was the wrong thing to say.

"No it doesn't," she answered, as if she were correcting an error on a paper he had written.

He chuckled.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"As soon as I said that, I knew you'd be upset. And I was, like, kicking myself for daring to compliment you. ...It's not often a girl dislikes being complimented."

"I'm just...a stickler for fact."

"But what about the fact that you're wrong?"

"I suppose that's a matter of opinion," she said, and he opened his mouth to declare victory, "of which _you_ are wrong," she finished.

He clamped his mouth shut but the smile remained on his face. He had the sneaking suspicion that she could read the dictionary to him and it would amuse him to hear her voice it.

She quickly disappeared into the bathroom and he stretched, instantly groaning as his muscles protested, and sinking down so that he was stretched out across his side of the bed. _His side_, he thought, mocking himself, _as if Elphaba would ever deign to sleep there again_.

She returned to the room, fully dressed, and took in the sight of him stretched lazily across his bed, a strange look on his face, almost like he was inches from a really good meal but had been told he had to wait. Excitement and disappointment. Her heart fluttering at the sight, she paused and allowed herself to look at him, only for a few moments, before resuming her bustle through the room.

"Hey!" he called, as she was placed his neatly-folded clothing on the back of a chair and made to exit. "I'm walking you back."

"You're quite stubborn," she chided.

"I'm used to getting my way," he admitted.

"I bet." There was no judgement, it was simply stated, with the same ease of informing him she wasn't attractive. "You might want to...smooth yourself out a little," she advised.

He raised his eyebrows at her, and she quickly heard the words she'd spoken and regretted the phrasing. "You look great, you always do," she said, a flush creeping into her cheeks. "But you also look...rumpled. Not like you went home by yourself and slept alone," she added, and he caught her drift.

"Good call," he said, and pulled off the shirt he'd worn to the ball (and to sleep the night before) and rustled around in his chest of drawers for another one. Elphaba, despite her best efforts, couldn't help taking in his strong body and feeling a heat creep over her, a tightness in her chest. It occurred to her how lucky Galinda was to be able to reach out and touch that body whenever she wanted, and then, there was guilt unlike any she'd felt in recent months.

"We should've told Galinda," Elphaba murmured. She'd occaisionally let her mind wander to thoughts of this kind and handsome boy in the many hours she spent with him, or in the hours following the hours she spent with him...and sometimes before those hours, in anticipation of the sparkling blue eyes and easy, amiable grin. But they'd only been thoughts, there was nothing harmful about them. She'd hated that she thought of him, but convinced herself that it was just a world inside her brain, and that, like everything else she subtley yearned for, it would remain an unfulfilled former fantasy. But now, taking in his ease in front of her, displaying his body, and knowing they'd slept near to each other the night before, her hand on his knee, his hand in her hair, she felt like she had somehow willed it into existence. Her thoughts had brought about, from Galinda's point of view, her boyfriend and best friend disappearing into the night and not returning until morning.

"There wasn't time," Fiyero said casually.

"We should've made time. We should've invited her to come, too," Elphaba said, an edge to her voice. Nothing was to be taken casually in regards to the first friendship she'd ever had. And with that, Elphaba realized that Fiyero would never be hers, even if he someday lost his mind and fell for her, because it would simply hurt Galinda too much.

"We should go," he said, taking in how serious her face now was, and feeling a sickening dread that their time together was not only at a close for the day, but for quite some time. A fierce loyalty to Galinda shone from Elphaba's face, and Fiyero, afire with shame, realized that ferocity only made him want to take her in his arms, and kiss her until she vowed to be that loyal to him.

He reached to open the door and winced at the attempt to move his hand, which Elphaba saw again, and remembered. It was obviously worse than he had let on, and Elphaba felt guilt and pride mingle in her. He was obviously tough, she thought. "You should get that checked," she said, trying to maintain a distant tone.

He examined his hand, and decided that he should, at least, wash it up. "Hold on," he said, and ran to the bathroom, rinsed off the dried blood from his cracked knuckles, and swathed his hand in a towel.

"I'll fix it up when we get to my dorm," Elphaba said, clearly not satisfied with the job he'd done in taking care of himself.

They exited the room and found the hallway to be fairly empty, as were the grounds. They were silent, unsure of what they would discover upon reuniting with Galinda, unsure of how to now deal with the stirrings of young love, unsure what to say about anything.

Elphaba had certainly never fallen asleep so near to anyone before, let alone a young man, let alone a young man who had the ability to make her a little weak in the knees. She told herself she'd never slept better because she'd never slept IN something better, after such a stressful night. She told herself this with each step, swore it had nothing to do with the company she had kept while she slumbered.

Upon reaching the dorm shared by Galinda Upland (of the UpperUplands) and Elphaba Thropp, both the Winkie prince and the green girl hesitated, unsure of what would come next. Would Galinda be angry, would she be hurt, would she accuse them of things they did not do? Would she accuse them of feelings they really had? Could they lie to her face? Elphaba took a deep breath and took the plunge of opening the door and stepping in. Fiyero followed, eyes on the ground and his hand innocently sliding up to scratch the back of his head.

"Oh, ELPHIE!!" Galinda greeted them. "I knooowwwww you're probably mad at me for not visiting you in the infirmary, but I tried, I swear, and it was all locked up for the night!!" Galinda threw her arms around her friend, then leaned back, hands still clutching Elphaba at the elbows, and examined her. "They must've taken great care of you, you look _great._ All rested and happy!! Oh, Fiyero!" she said, noticing the man who stood behind Elphaba.

Galinda rushed to him and planted a nice little kiss on his lips. "It was so nice of you to take care of my Elphie for me," she cooed. "And to bring her back..." Galinda again fought the nagging feeling that Fiyero cared for Elphaba out of more than just loyalty to her, but the optimist in her couldn't comprehend it. And, as much as she saw the beauty in Elphaba, she couldn't fathom being threatened by her when it came to romantic matters.

"I was awake early, and thought I'd walk her back. Though Avaric's probably still sleeping off his date with Ms Vodka last night. I'm glad you're alright, Elphaba," he said, trying to keep his voice even.

"Thank you, Master Fiyero," she responded. He reached out and touched her shoulder lightly, and then Galinda noticed his hand, bruised and swollen, at the same time Elphaba was reminded of it, and moved to her little first aid kit, which contained, among other things, gauze and soothing cream.

Fiyero went to Elphaba's side with no hesitation, and she quickly and efficiently wiped the cream on his hand and then wrapped it tenderly with the gauze. Galinda watched this, and saw very little change in her friend, only that she was being nice to someone other than Galinda. She was intent on her work, a perfectionist as usual, and did a neat and tidy job of assisting someone who had previously assisted her. But Fiyero, Galinda saw, was watching her intensely, and his eyes closed ever so briefly when Elphaba would move her hands over his.

"Thank you," he said softly, as Elphaba packed up her supplies.

"Don't mention it."

Galinda swallowed hard, wondering how long she'd been oblivious to the way Fiyero was acting now. Had he been looking at Elphaba like this for days? Weeks? Months? Galinda felt a little sick.

Fiyero approached her, kissed her on the forehead, and said, "I'll see you later. Take care of each other, girls," before exiting.

Galinda watched the door close behind him and then turned to her friend, mostly sure of the answer she was going to get from Elphaba, if Elphaba had the heart to tell her the truth.

"Elphie," Galinda started. "Can I ask you something about Fiyero?"


	8. Absence

Elphaba felt her heart lurch. In her head, she answered her friend, 'No, you can't ask me something about Fiyero.' Instead, she replied, "Uhh... Sure. What?"

Galinda took a deep breath.

"He doesn't _love_ me anymore!"

Stunned, Elphaba could only sputter, "That's not a question," and then watch, dumbstruck, as Galinda burst into noisy, prissy tears. The little blonde girl dropped onto her bed, clutched her pillow to her chest, then toppled over onto her side and continued to wail.

"Oh, sweet Oz, Galinda!" Elphaba exclaimed.

"I... I really - because... Maybe I'm wrong, I've only just discoverated it..." Galinda was gasping for air, and Elphaba sat stiffly on the side of her friend's bed, reaching out and patting her back.

"I don't think you're thinking straight, Galinda," Elphaba said in as soothing a voice as she could muster.

"WELL I DO!!!" she wailed. This crying and carrying on went on for about twenty more minutes, by which time, Elphaba was trying to figure out a way to get up and grab a book without being the most insensitive person in the history of Shiz. "I've changed my mind," Galinda said, sitting up. "I'm sorry to have dumped that on you, Elphie! Goodness, how strange it must have felt, to hear me so horrendified."

"I don't know what got into you Galinda," said Elphaba carefully.

"I think I've just never seen Fiyero be so heroific before last night," sniffled Galinda, "and maybe, I was a little jealous that it was over you. I'm glad you're alright, I'm glad he was there to save you, I just... guess I wish someone would save me."

It wouldn't do anyone any good for Galinda, the goodliest girl in Shiz, to be miserable. It would be easier if she just convinced herself she was happy, so that all her fans could be happy, too.

"Well, we'll get you allergic to water and have a perverted asshole hold you threateningly over a pond and then Fiyero can rush in and save you," Elphaba said, an angry edge to her voice.

"No, I'd want my own story," Galinda said, oblivious. "Like I was trapped in a tower and Fiyero swung in on a rope and-"

"He swung UP to a tower? On a rope?"

Galinda just looked at her room mate blankly. "Well it's a fantasy, Elphie. It doesn't have to be possible, or sensical." In her head, Elphaba thought, 'How ridiculous, to swing in on a rope! Would he yell 'LET THE BLONDE GIRL GO' as he did? Typical. Revolting.'

Elphaba rolled her eyes and nodded in compliance. "Okay, then what would happen?" she asked, determined to keep Galinda's mind on her ridiculous fantasy life and off the reality Elphaba was struggling with.

It had been a close call, though Elphaba couldn't understand how Galinda would assume that Fiyero might lose interest in her. Where had it come from? Did she secretly know that Elphaba had spent the night in Fiyero's room? Whatever the case, Elphaba decided then and there that her contact with Fiyero should be kept to a minimum, yet again, a decision which would soon come to drive the young prince practically insane.

Lurlinemas approached rapidly, and Elphaba, nose in various books, managed to avoid Fiyero by way of studying in serene, quiet locations. Though she didn't know it, he frequented the library and study rooms in search of her, but to no avail. Instead, he supposed, it was fitting to occupy his time with Galinda, the sought-after treasure of most of those who matriculated at Shiz.

But something was different. While he had never put too much effort into his relationship with Galinda (or anything, really), there was still an underlying vibe of apathy Galinda found herself getting from Fiyero, and so, she was not surprised when, not even a week after the ball, Fiyero was scarcely to be found. Every once in awhile, Galinda would go check up on Elphie (for she knew where Elphie was, just in case of an emergency) and find her, alone, and irritated to be disturbed.

Somehow, finding Elphaba alone, leaving Fiyero's whereabouts unknown, wasn't as reassuring as Galinda would have thought it would be. Where was he all the time? A few times, the pretty blonde had thought she'd seen him exiting or entering the library, but that was ridiculocious.

The approaching of Lurlinemas, doing fairly well (as well as could be expected) in her courses, dating the most dreamy boy in school, and having a close friend to confide in seemed somehow a little empty to Galinda with Elphie so hell-bent on getting top marks in everything, and unable to stand prettily in the snow (one of Galinda's favorite winter activities), and the scarcity of her dreamy boyfriend.

She'd see him every once in awhile, attempt to persuade him to kiss her without actually asking him to (had she ever had to ask before?), cuddle with him briefly, and then nod in understanding as he'd spot some professor and run off after him or her, which Galinda found very confusifying.

There was one day when she actually got to talk to him - sort of. She'd been walking down the hall with Elphaba and Fiyero had approached them from the opposite direction. Elphaba had instantly found something interesting about her boots, and studied them stupidly as he drew nearer. But Galinda pulled Elphie to a stop and stood between the mortified green girl and her handsome swain of a boyfriend.

_They were both so tall_, she realized. She felt small, and delicate. It made her giggle to herself with pleasure. "Galinda, Miss Elphaba," Fiyero said in greeting.

"Hello, darling," Galinda said, popping up on her tiptoes and straining to kiss him. He wasn't looking at her, though. Elphaba said nothing, and Fiyero watched her. Galinda dropped back down on her heels, then popped up again, then dropped. Holding herself up on her toes was hard work! Finally, Elphaba cast a glance at her bobbing friend, which caused Fiyero to look toward her, also, and notice that her lips were slightly puckered, waiting to be kissed.

He kissed her cheek.

Galinda looked like someone had deflated her, but only for a moment. She instantly brightened up again, determined to be happy, because happy is what happens when your dreams come true, and Fiyero was a dream.

"We should all get together for some fun tonight! You, and me, and Elphie, and... I don't know... Anyone who we like and who we think should come!"

Nearby, as he often was, Boq looked excited.

Fiyero seemed to mull it over, while Elphaba instantly responded, "I have to study."

"Yeah, exams are looming, Galinda," Fiyero agreed.

Boq stalked away, disappointed.

"Oh, Elphie, you have to come! You two, forget exams! You've been constantly studying for like a year now!"

"We've only been here a few months, Galinda," Elphaba corrected her friend.

"Well, I'm going to be late for class," Fiyero announced. "See you Galinda... Elphie."

Elphaba darted a glance at Fiyero, with a quick nod that was so stiff it looked like it hurt. Galinda waved at his retreating back. "Byeeee Fiyero!"

And then he was gone once more, furious that the only time he'd seen Elphaba in the last eon had been in a meeting with Galinda, in which the Emerald girl had stared stupidly at her boots. Was it possible that Elphaba had no feelings for him whatsoever? Forget loyalty to her friend, maybe Elphaba wouldn't even want to be with him!

He passed Avaric in the hall, and almost hoped the jerk would say something inflammatory, so he could do him serious physical damage in an attempt to get out some frusteration. But Avaric, who had been almost meek since the incident at the pond, merely dipped his head, clearly remorseful now that he was sober, and so Fiyero continued to stalk down the hallway and slam the various doors he encountered.

On the final day of session before students were allowed to travel home, Fiyero finally re-appeared. Knocking on the door of the dorm Galinda and Elphaba shared, he quickly entered after they bade him come in. Elphaba, who'd scarcely looked upon him since the day following Galinda's hysterical breakdown (save that awkward encounter in the hall), immediately busied herself "searching" for some paper or, perhaps, her sensibilities.

"Hello, girls," he said, shyly. Galinda smiled at him, a little sadly, feeling the divide between the three of them and knowing, after much pondersome reflection, that it was because all three of them desired something else. It had taken her a long time to come to terms with it, but even _she_ wasn't happy with her current state of affairs: as much as she cared for Fiyero, there was nothing satisfying or exciting about being with someone who longed for somebody else. And, judging the body language of her two friends, it wasn't too difficult to see that trying to stay apart to Elphaba and Fiyero was like two magnets attempting the same thing. Their bodies turned toward each other, they darted glances at each other, as if it was out of their control.

"I'm sure you're both heading home for the holidays. I'm not...travelling to that region can be perilous in the wintertime, what with the snow and storms, and it's just not worth it. However, I didn't feel right about sending your packages out back in October, when I had to send them to ensure they reached my family in time." He chuckled a little at this, Galinda perked up at the word "packages", and Elphaba stiffened. "...So," Fiyero reached into a bag he'd been carrying and fished out some gifts.

Elphaba was still "searching" for something, so he started with Galinda, who happily tore open delicate pink gloves with fine purple stitching, to which she squealed, a set of pearl earrings, to which she squealed, a pair of pink shoes, to which she squealed, and a finely-made hairbush with a beautifully-carved "G" on the back, to which she sqealed and, upon running her hands over the soft bristles, breathed, "Oooh, this is the perfect medium for my hair. Fiyero, they're all beautiful!! Thank you!!" and ran and threw her arms around him. It had been both easy and difficult to shop for Galinda - she had standards, so expensive and girly items such as the shoes, gloves and hairbrush were a given, and she was his girlfriend, so jewellery was a _must_. But it was difficult to give her such shallow items, when, he knew, Elphaba's gifts were much more heartfelt. It didn't matter that Elphaba was simply a deeper person, and had no time or need for gloves and hairbrushes, Fiyero was still aware that he had put much more time into Elphaba. As much as he'd tried to think of something that felt as meaningful to give to his girlfriend, she was a girl who looked at number of presents and dollars spent, and there was nothing he could do about that.

"Elphaba," he said. Elphaba peered up, and Fiyero set that half-smile upon her that always made her face crease into a grin. "If you don't want your presents, I'll be bitterly disappointed."

"Oh, no of course," she stammered, and made her way over to him. He held out a package that looked like a book, to which Galinda wrinkled her nose and thanked Lurline her gifts were more exciting.

"Open this one first," he said, to which Elphaba reeled in shock. There was more than one? She took what indeed felt to be a book from him and unwrapped it carefully, and couldn't help but inhale softly at what she now held in her hands. Not one, but two books - the first a rare book ("rare" was an understatement. He'd had to use his Prince Status more than once to track it down and acquire it) on the history of Animals, printed before their rights had started to disappear, and the second, a very fancy notebook, the cover emblazoned with a golden "E", inside which was a bookmark, on which he had written:

"Elphaba - WRITE THE TRUTH

Can't wait to read it,

Fiyero"

Moved beyond words, Elphaba traced the lines of the words he had written.

"I didn't want to write in your fresh new book," he said. "But I wanted it inscribed in some way..." His gaze met hers, and she instantly stepped to him and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug so fierce, he was sure it couldn't be Elphaba who was holding him. He put his arms gently around her and pressed the side of his face to the side of hers, breathing in how she smelled and how it felt to be in contact with her after a month of, not only knowing he had fallen for her, but not so much as touching her.

Galinda noted this, but strangely, it soothed her. It reaffirmed what she'd known was coming.

"And secondly," Fiyero said, finally pulling away from Elphaba and fishing something out of his bag -

"Oh my heart can't bear anything more," Elphaba pleaded.

"Well, this is the best part, so it would be a shame if you didn't accept it."

He handed her a stack of papers, covered in his now-familiar messy scrawl, referencing textbooks and page numbers, seemingly explaining a research project. Elphaba thumbed through them - there were no specific words to give away what it was all about. But the final page, written in as neat a script as Fiyero had the patience to pen, was a spell. Elphaba read it through once, thinking she knew what it was for, but not daring to believe it, and then skimmed through his research again, finding more and more clues that it was, indeed, what she'd have never even dreamed.

"Fiyero...I - Is...?"

Fiyero let a grin spread over his face, and articulated: "I think, I mean, I'm pretty sure, that within the next few hours, you won't be allergic to water anymore."


	9. Happiness

Elphaba stood there, gobsmacked. Galinda let out a "Whaaaaa?" And Fiyero beamed.

"I got the idea awhile ago... a little while after you talking about how loathe you are to winter, and how jealous you are of all the people who get to play in the snow."

Elphaba had completely forgotten.

"After that, I happened to stumble upon a strange old book that talked about changing the energy in someone's cells or something, and it referenced another text, which I then went searching for, and, anyway, I started to get it in my head that, maybe, possibly, I could figure out a way to help with your allergy. It took me about ten years longer than it would've taken you, and I got help from some professors and a few doctors looked it over... And I haven't nearly the confidence it requires in sorcery to attempt it, but there are a few people on campus who think they can make it work. I - I hope it does. I got really serious about it after Avaric's stunt at the pond."

Both Fiyero and Elphaba thought back to that night, and both flushed a little. Elphaba had yet to get out a coherent sentence, she simple stood there, staring at the papers in her hands. The book he'd originally "stumbled upon" seemed to be linked to a course she wasn't taking, so she'd never happened upon it. The notes, what she could decipher, seemed to make sense, and the books they referenced, the few whose titles she recognized, were legitimate, if not well-known, volumes. She wouldn't believe it until she'd stuck her hand under a faucet, but the thought alone, not to mention the hours or _reading_ that had gone into this, made Elphaba wish, for the first time that school year, that she was Galinda Upland (of the UpperUplands), so that she could kiss Fiyero with all the passion in the world.

Instead, she remained where she was, helplessly, chin quivering, clutching these papers as if they were connected to him.

"Oh you two," Galinda finally exclaimed, tears in her eyes. "My Lurlinemas present to you is this: Fiyero, you are free of our relationship. Elphaba, you are free of any guilt you might have in being with Fiyero."

Not able to comprehend what had just happened, Fiyero and Elphaba both turned to stare at Galinda.

"I'm serious. This is ridiculocious, watching the two of you mope around, miserable without each other. And anyone trying to cure Elphie's allergy is a big deal, but for _Fiyero_, to _read..._" Galinda paused. "Though you've become very brainy, recently, Fiyero," she added. "It's so clear to me that you two have feelings for each other. I thought I could erase the discoveration of it from my mind and that I would be happy with a charade, but I'm not. I deserve better than to not have my two favourite people in the same room because one of them doesn't love me and the other feels guilty that she's the one he loves."

Galinda had never purposefully used this much logic before in her life, and it was a little overwhelming.

Elphaba stood still, waiting for Fiyero to beg Galinda to reconsider, to tell her she had it all wrong, he didn't feel anything for Elphaba, but Fiyero just stood there, a cautious smile on his face.

"Don't ask me to reconsider, don't say I'm wrong, because I will take it all back and have my dreamy boyfriend once more. I will," she cautioned.

"Galinda..." Elphaba murmured.

"I want you two to be happy. I love you, both of you," her blonde friend said, trying not to cry.

Fiyero saw more goodness in the girl than he had the entire time he'd known her, for her knew her words to be true. She _did _love them. And she wanted what was best for them.

"That's really noble of you, Galinda. Are you sure that's how you feel?" he asked.

"I'm sure. Oh, also, if anyone asks, I broke up with you."

"Deal."

Elphaba felt that this was all going on without any input from her.

"Hey, how do you know I even want -"

"Don't do it, Elphie. His eyes alone should be enough of a reason to at least give it a shot, not to mention the way you clearly feel about each other."

With that, Galinda moved to collect her handbag. "Oooh!! I almost forgot!!" she cried. "Your _real _presents!!"

From the closet she pulled out two boxes: one contained cufflinks for Fiyero, the other, a lovely semi-formal dress for Elphaba, a coppery colour, and with the slightest sheen.

"Dress up and go somewhere nice," she said, suddenly realizing she'd basically bought them items to wear on a date. Though she hadn't really known when she was going to end things with Fiyero, clearly, in the back of her mind, she'd wanted Elphie and Fiyero ("Hmmm... ElphieandFiyero... Elphiyero," she giggled to herself) to go out somewhere fancy. "Now, I have to go," and with that, Galinda made her way to the door.

Elphaba followed her, still clutching the precious papers, and looked searchingly into her room mate's eyes. "You can't -"

"Elphaba, I have decided. Don't mess this up with him," Galinda said, looking pointedly at the papers in the girl's green hands. "He clearly cares a lot for you. Don't run away from it." Feeling far too serious, she giggled, "At least stick around long enough to kiss him. He's amaaaaaazing."

Elphaba's eyes widened in shock.

"I love you, Elphie! See you in the New Year! Bye, Fiyero!!" she called.

Fiyero appeared behind Elphaba in the doorway and grinned at his ex. "Have a safe journey, Galinda. Thanks for the cufflinks, and...everything."

"Take care of each other," were Galinda's parting words, and then she was gone.

Fiyero and Elphaba watched her go, and then stood in awkward silence. Elphaba stepped back into her room with Fiyero, following, closing the door behind him. Now free to "kiss him with all the passion in the world", Elphaba found herself shy.

"I can't believe you -" she started to say, holding out his research.

But Fiyero would have none of that, and stepped to her and held her close, kissing her forehead, her temples, cheeks, eyelids, nose, anything he could without being so forward as to kiss her straight on the lips. "Of course I did," he sighed. He squeezed her tightly, content for the first time in over a month. She cleared her throat to speak, and he spoke before she could. "If you tell me not to hold you, I'll never forgive you," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

"Never?" she asked weakly.

"Never."

And so she stood in his embrace, nuzzling his neck and shoulders a little as he continued to simply breathe the idea of being able to kiss her. Finally, his hands found either side of her face, and he looked into her eyes. "I care so much about you, Elphaba. I didn't know what to do, I knew you'd never let me leave Galinda for you, I even knew that if I just did it and then tried to date you, you'd say no, out of loyalty to her. This is about as perfect as it can get, and I'm going to just put it all out there. Don't listen to that voice in your head that says this isn't real, that says I can't care for you, that says no one will ever like you, because _I_ like you. I even - I..."

Realizing that, thusfar, she hadn't really said anything about her feelings for him, he felt the need to stop his rant right there.

Elphaba couldn't say the words, she couldn't even begin to collect them in her head. So, instead, she tilted her head up and kissed him on the mouth, firmly. It was a chaste kiss, but firm. Not obscene, but with meaning. Fiyero loved it. When they parted, he watched her intently, trying to decide the best way to go about beginning a relationship with her in a way that wouldn't have her kicking him squarely between the legs. He peered around the room while catching his breath and calming the urge to throw her against a wall or down on a bed and...

"Are you alright?"

"Pardon?"

"You look a little..." Elphaba was trying to decide how Fiyero looked. "I'm not sure."

"Oh," Fiyero flushed. "I'm trying to calm myself down a little. You get my heart beating pretty fast, you know."

Elphaba blushed, biting her lip, and gazing away from him. Fiyero felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of it, and shook his head, chuckling. "What?" Elphaba asked.

"It's not working."

Elphaba stepped away from him, and seemed to remember something. "I got you a present," she exclaimed.

"You did?"

"Well, I was shopping for Nessa and Galinda, and then I saw this..." Elphaba went to her bedside table and pulled out a small package. "It's not much, because I don't have much..."

Fiyero took the package and opened it, pulling from it a traditional Vinkus scarf, in blue and red. Fiyero remembered that they were her favorite colors. He also noticed a small bit of green stitching on one corner, and thought of the time he'd held his jacket up near Elphaba's skin and said blue looked good on her. As he unfurled it, he found it was wrapped around a really nice pen.

"You sometimes seem homesick... And the pen is for your studies," she said with a chuckle. "Seeing as how you're all brainy now."

"Elphaba," he smiled. "They're perfect. Thank you so much."

He walked to her and kissed her, holding her, and they smiled at each other. She found her gaze resting on the window, and Fiyero watched her face light up, then followed her gaze.

"It's snowing," he said, noticing the sight outside the window.

"I want to play in it," she said.

"Let's see if your present works, then," Fiyero said, going to her closet and pulling out her thickest cloak.


	10. Snow

The incantation was fast, leaving Elphaba tingling all over. "My skin feels electric," she whispered to Fiyero.

"I know the feeling," he whispered back, taking her hand in his.

Was he going to be this open about his feelings all the time? When he said things that intimated his desire for her, it made her feel dread and excitement at the same time. When he'd been with Galinda, there hadn't been any hope, which had been safer. Now, he was going to want to hold her, kiss her... More than that? More than that.

They found a faucet, and turned it on just a little, so that it dripped. The moment felt like a balloon expanding in her chest. Fiyero held one hand, and Elphaba reached the other out slowly. She closed her hand into a fist, then stuck out her pinky, letting it rest under the faucet until a drip fell on her.

It felt cold. There was no burning, no awful red welt. Just a strange coldness that carried down the side of her finger as gravity pulled the droplet down. Elphaba smiled, not sure she could believe it, and let go of Fiyero's hand to reach out and turn the water on a little more.

When her entire hand had been submerged under the water, Elphaba was sure that her allergy was, in fact, gone. She and Fiyero practically jumped up and down with joy, hugging and laughing. Elphaba left her arms around his neck after they had stopped, and stood there, feeling the exhileration of not being allergic to water coupled with the exhileration of holding Fiyero in her arms. He held her close, and they felt the warmth of their bodies pressed together.

"Snow," Elphaba finally sighed.

"Good idea," Fiyero agreed, and, hand in hand, they ventured out into the flurries together.

Mostly everyone had gone home for the winter break. The grounds were quiet, muffled by the cold whiteness. "It's so beautiful," Elphaba said.

"Beauty is everywhere," Fiyero concurred, staring at her.

Elphaba smiled shyly, and gathered up some snow in her hands, packing it into a ball, and looking at it wondrously. "It's _really_ cold," she exclaimed. "I was going to make snow angels, but I don't know if I'm ready for that, yet."

Fiyero smiled lopsidedly at her, trying to imagine the sensation of wet or snow for the first time, and couldn't. He watched her enjoying letting flakes fall on her, watched as she spun, the snow falling around her like blossoms, watched as she wound up -

She threw a snowball at him. With an evil grin, she froze after the clump of snow hit his chest and then fell to the ground. He stared down at the wet splotch where the ball had hit, then, pondering his options, scooped up some snow and chased after her. She was fast, but he was faster, and grabbed her by the waist and rubbed the snowball on her neck, letting it fall down the back of her dress, to which she shrieked.

"That was very uncalled for," she scolded.

"You started it."

Elphaba reached downward, trying to get at some more snow to attack him with but he pulled her close, and whispered in her ear. "I don't want to fight..."

"It's playing," she laughed.

"It's cold, and fast. It's not warm, and gentle."

"Are you really this romantic?"

"No," Fiyero chuckled.

She shivered in his arms a little. "Snow is really cold," she chattered.

Fiyero laughed, head back, his long, strong neck just begging to be nuzzled. Elphaba was glad to oblige, and pressed her cold nose against him. "Hey," Fiyero complained. "Your nose is pretty cold."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Elphaba replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I thought you were tough."

"I _am_ tough. I saved you from Death-by-Pond, didn't I? And," he added, "I found a cure for your water allergy, _and_ I am _going_ to save you from night after night of studying with no breaks whatsoever."

Elphaba smiled. "I suppose you are a bit of a hero, Fiyero." She paused. "Hero Fiyero," she tried. "Fiyero the hero..."

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know," Elphaba said. "It just had a nice flow to it." She shook her head, clearly flustered, attempting to clear her mind. He made her so nervous. She'd barely gotten by with them being friends, and now, here they were, having a conversation while his arms were firmly around her waist. "That's quite the list of achievements you just rattled off," she mused, changing the subject.

"It seems pretty obvious, when you hear all those things, eh?"

"What does?"

"My affection for you. I'm surprised it took us this long to -"

"To what?"

Fiyero thought about it. "I'm not sure... To... Be together?"

"Are we together?"

Fiyero wondered why Elphaba had a joking tone to her voice. Didn't she take this seriously? She didn't look him in the eye, and then he realized: she took this very seriously. Probably so seriously she wasn't wanting to think about it too much.

"I want us to be together," he murmured.

Elphaba didn't understand. When had this happened? _How_ had this happened? She looked at him, into his deep blue eyes, at his handsome face, at how broad his shoulders were under his winter coat. She knew, she remembered, what has under that coat, at least from the waist up.

"Everyone will judge you," she warned him.

"I'll be too busy being with you to notice," Fiyero replied.

Elphaba smiled, almost winced, at how brainlessly optimistic he was.

"So, now, can I ask you out, formally, rather than have Galinda do it for me?"

Elphaba realized that Galinda really _had_ orchestrated the whole thing. "If you want," she answered, feeling overwhelmed by how wonderful he was being.

"Elphaba, this is me, formally asking you out. Exclusively. Will you have me?"

Elphaba nodded happily. "If you'll have me."

"I think you're going to spend a lot of time fighting me off when I want to have you," Fiyero predicted, kissing her nose, then tilting his head and kissing her on the mouth. Sighing a little, Elphaba kissed him back, sucking lightly on his bottom lip, which inspired Fiyero to take the kiss deeper.

It was as if Elphaba was suddenly two people: one, returning his kiss, pressing herself against him, smoothing her hands over him as he did the same; the other, screaming in terror at how readily the first Elphaba responded to him. They kissed until they were breathless, until Elphaba felt dizzy, until Fiyero felt weak.

"Want to go get warm somewhere?"

"Good idea," Elphaba said. "Where were you thinking?"

_My bed._ "I don't know... Maybe that little café we studied at a few times?"

"It's off school grounds - what about the press?"

"Do they matter?"

"Yes," Elphaba said firmly. "Nobody knows about you and Galinda breaking up yet. People will think she was forced to break up with you after yet another 'indescretion'."

"You love her a lot, don't you," Fiyero observed.

"She's my best friend. My only friend."

"Not anymore," Fiyero reminded her, kissing her forehead. "And, hey, we were friends months ago!"

"I had inappropriate feelings for you. It felt dishonest, which isn't a good basis for friendship," Elphaba informed him.

_Inappropriate feelings?_ _Since when?_ "How long have you liked me?"

Elphaba blushed. "Longer than I'll ever admit to anyone, including myself."


	11. Trust

"Wet clothes," Elphaba grumbled with disgust. "How I loathe them."

Fiyero took her cloak from her and went into his bathroom, hanging it over the curtain rod. He also removed his jacket and hung it on the back of the bathroom door.

Elphaba stood in his large room, actually taking the time to look at it for the first time. It was definitely twice the size of the room she shared with Galinda, in fact, she surmised that his _bed_ was the size of the room she shared with Galinda. The largeness of it made it a little drafty, however, and she found herself shivering.

Fiyero, emerging from the bathroom, observed this and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her. "Hullo," he murmured in her ear. "I hate to be stupidly male, but I just have to..." and instead of saying what he had to do, he kissed her neck. She closed her eyes, leaning against him, savoring the sensation of his lips softly massaging her. "You're freezing," he whispered. "Want to change into something warm and dry?"

"Are you offering me the privacy of your bathroom to change?"

"Not necessarily," Fiyero admitted. "Do what you want to do. I want you to be comfortable."

Elphaba turned in his arms and faced him. "So do I," she smiled. He couldn't quite read her facial expression, but, even if he could have, it still would have surprised him that she reached up and unbuttoned his shirt. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but, stunned, he couldn't move, and so he stood helplessly as she slid her hands under his shirt, over his shoulders, and pushed his shirt off him. "You looked like you needed a hand getting changed," she told him, smirking.

"I really did," he agreed fervently.

"What about me? Do you think I need help with the zipper of my dress?"

Fiyero's mouth dropped open as he nodded. She turned around and pulled her braid of of the way, turning her head toward him a little and glancing over her shoulder. He slid his hands up her back and gently tugged down the zipper, then rubbed her back under her dress, massaging the garment off her. When it fell to the floor around her ankles, and she stood in nothing but a slip, he dropped his head forward and rested his forehead against the nape of her neck, sighing. "How is this happening?"

"Don't ask me," Elphaba pleaded, "I'm barely sure." She turned around once more and allowed him to enfold her in his arms, feeling heat grow between their bodies instantly. She realized she was more than partial to being pressed up against his muscular form, and that, even if she hadn't been shivering, she would have been stuck to him.

"You're still freezing," Fiyero lamented, and, with that, he pulled away from her, kissing her briefly on the forehead, and walked to his closet, returning with a thick bathrobe, which he threw around her shoulders. She stepped out of her dress entirely and allowed him to tie the belt around her waist, then scooped up her dress. "I've got that," Fiyero said, taking the dress from her and disappearing into his bathroom once more.

While in there, he took a moment to catch his breath and clear his head. Why did she have to trust him so much? It made her take her clothes off, and made him _refuse_ to pressure her. She should have barbed wire around her. Ugly, pointy barbed wire.

"I just want to say," he announced as he once more exited the bathroom, "that you are, hands down, the most seductive woman in the entire universe." She practically jumped away from him. "And _don't_ scowl at me, or argue with me," he bossed, before she could do either.

"Alright, then can I just respond that _you_ are, hands down, the craziest man in the entire universe?"

"I'll take it," he shrugged agreeably. He moved to his chest of drawers and found a sweater, pulling it over his head, then, grabbing a book off his desk, handed the volume to Elphaba as he crossed the room and stoked a fire. "Make yourself comfortable," he suggested, nodding in the direction of his bed.

Curled up in the glow of the fire, Elphaba read while Fiyero played with her hair. Eventually, they drifted off to sleep, warm and dry, and smiling.

The new couple spent the next few weeks in bliss.

Winter break officially constituted school closing, so there was little supervision, allowing the two of them to come and go as they pleased, at any hours. It was a good thing, too, because Elphaba had taken to studying with Fiyero, then falling asleep on his bed.

Fiyero had taken to cold showers.

Though she was practically begging for Fiyero to lie with her, undress her, and be with her, Elphaba was forcing herself to be reasonable, to know that she was much too afraid, at this point, to do what her body desired. In the dark, late at night, he held her close, massaging her back with his hands, pulling her to his chest, trying to keep himself calm.

It didn't always work. One night, Elphaba had turned away from him in her sleep, but settled back against him. His arm had snaked its way around her waist, pulling her close, and, she had arched her back, writhing so that she was flush up against him, her bottom firmly against his groin. Previously half asleep, Fiyero was suddenly awake at the feeling of tightness in his sleeping shorts, and Elphaba was definitely awake - she literally bounced away from him, instantly tense.

"I'm sorry," he groaned.

"I..." Elphaba felt childish, and ill-prepared for her attraction to him. "Don't apologize, _I'm_ sorry. It shouldn't be a big deal, I mean, it isn't... I, well, you, it's just... I think we... Ugh!"

Fiyero, still breathing deeply and thinking about math, sports and ugly old women in an attempt to... relax ...found a new occupation for his thoughts. "Fabala, just talk to me, tell me what's going on in your head."

"It's embarassing," she protested.

"You can't embarass yourself in front of me, I love you," he murmured absently.

Shocked, Elphaba could only stare at the ceiling. "Pardon?"

Fiyero realized he'd let slip the word that could change their relationship forever, but couldn't bring himself to take it back _or_ say it again. "Uhhmmm..."

"You can't love me," Elphaba pondered. "You may think you do, but I'm sure you don't. It's alright, you don't have to."

"Yes I do," he argued. "Not, 'I have to', but 'I do'." He clarified awkwardly. Why did she make it so hard? "Elphaba," he said, sighing. "I love you. So tell me why you're so afraid of getting close. I can tell you want to, I can feel your skin getting hot through your clothes, I can feel... I can tell."

Elphaba twisted her mouth around, chewing the inside of her cheek. "I am just very new at this," she said. "And beyond that, we're only a couple weeks in... Nobody has ever really come near me, and you... You seem to want to be with me -"

"I do want to be with you."

Elphaba tried to ignore that those words, husky with lust, came from the mouth of the most desireable man she'd ever met. "It's just all new, and so it's a little scary. But I do want to, I want to be close to you. I want to touch you..."

"So touch me," Fiyero said.

"But what if I'm bad at it?"

Fiyero almost laughed. Just being near her turned him on. Actual physical contact - she could probably poke him in the eye and it would feel good. "You won't be bad at it. Just, do what you will," he said, stretching out and tucking his hands behind his head.

Elphaba turned to face him, and put her hand on his heart, then rubbed his muscular chest, his shoulders, stroked his face... She sat up, and looked down at him. "You're so beautiful," she said wondrously. "It frightens me."

He smiled at her warmly, and sat up to kiss her. "I lied, you can't do what you will. I need to touch you back." His arms found their way around her waist and pulled her close, pulled her right into his lap. They kissed, exploring each others bodies, Elphaba not daring to open her eyes the entire time. If this was a dream, she didn't want to wake up for at least an hour. After awhile, she was straddling him, feeling the anticipation of being with him build, feeling more and more caught up, less and less like herself.

"Wait," she begged breathlessly. "I'm too emotional. I'm in over my head. My body thinks it's ready but my heart..." If they were together, naked, connected - then, for some reason, he came to his senses and realized he could do infininitely better than her, her heart would never survive. "My heart."

"If you're not ready, you're not ready, it's okay," Fiyero soothed her, smoothing her hair out of her face and kissing her. "I can wait. You're worth the wait."

He leaned back, and she fell with him, lying on his chest, hugging him close. "I don't want to lose myself," Elphaba admitted. "I've been so girlish and shy and awkward around you lately. I don't want to be needy."

"You're not needy. Remember the other day, when you wouldn't talk to me for three hours?"

"I was studying."

"Exactly."

Elphaba smiled contentedly and shifted so she was back on the bed, but left her arms around him, pressed her body close to his, and once more rested her hand over his heart.

As more and more students began to return to Shiz, Elphaba spent more time in her dorm, leaving Fiyero with nothing to do but study. He did, though begrudgingly, trying to focus on the words in his books when most of them reminded him of Elphaba.

_Green. Girl. Smart. Lips. ...the, it, and, when... _It didn't take much for Fiyero to think of his girlfriend.

Elsewhere, Galinda returned from her trip home, followed by carts of luggage full of new things she'd received from her parents.

"Elphie, you tricky thing!"

"It's nice to see you, too, Galinda. I trust your holidays were satisfactory?"

Galinda looked at her room mate, who was lying on her bed, reading. "Elphaba, don't tell me you spent all break lying on that bed, reading," she scolded.

Elphaba smiled. "No, Miss Galinda, I did not."

"Oooohhh," Galinda sighed. "Anyway, I found my present hidden in my things! I absolutively love it!!"

Elphaba had stashed Galinda's gift, a lovely sparkly bracelet, among Galinda's many pairs of shoes. Galinda ran to her room mate and awkwardly hugged her. "You're lying on your tummy," she grunted. "This is impossible!!" Elphaba relented, and, sitting up, actually returned Galinda's hug.

"Whoaaaa," Galinda exclaimed. "You're... you're _friendly!"_

"No I'm not," Elphaba snapped.

"Yes you aaaaarrrrre," Galinda sang, hopping up and dancing around the room before dropping down onto her own bed and kicking her legs with excitement. "Tell me everything that happened while I was gone!"

Elphaba felt fiercely private about her goings-on with Fiyero, and the fact that he'd told her he loved her. Beyond that, how could she talk to his ex about these things? "Isn't that a little awkward? I mean, he's your ex."

"Elphie, I got over Fiyero this winter. He spent the last month we were together pretty much ignoring me, it was pretty obvious he didn't care for me the way he did for you. It was hard, but it was best for all of us. And, besides, there are many handsome men out there. I met a whole bunch of them at various social functions!"

"We just spent time together," Elphaba said. "It was nice, he's nice."

Galinda frowned a little. "I'm going to find myself the most scandalaciously beautiful boyfriend _ever,_ and then you'll know it's okay to talk about this to me."

"What if I find it all very private?"

"Oh _Elphie," _ Galinda laughed, hysterically. "That's ridiculocious!"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "In any case, we haven't told anyone that we're together. We didn't even leave the school grounds. It's a personal thing, and besides, we didn't want anyone getting wind of us and before it becomes known that you broke up with him."

"That was very good of you," Galinda murmured absently.

"And I'd prefer it if you didn't tell anyone about Fiyero and I being... That we're... You know."

"A couple? Boyfriend and girlfriend? _Lovers?"_

"Involved," was Elphaba's short reply.

There were finals in the beginning of the new year, half way through January, then, a few days between the terms. It was during that time that Elphaba was informed my Madame Morrible that she had been invited to meet with the Wizard. It would be just an overnight in the Emerald City, and she could be back before the next courses began.

Elphaba would have floated through the days leading up to her trip if the unthinkable hadn't happened. Dr Dillamond, Elphaba's favorite teacher, was removed from the staff just before Elphaba was to depart. Arrested, it seemed, for speaking out about the rights of Animals.

The students were all abuzz with the news, some more upset than others, but all concerned by the teacher's dismissal. Even Galinda, who had had her (minor) diffferences with the Goat, found herself horrified by the removal of the teacher.

Elphaba was inconsolable. She spent most of her time in a state of silence, not even calling out in objection to the new teacher, who was clearly appointed to spread the idea that ANIMALS SHOULD BE SEEN AND NOT HEARD. Fiyero took her to his dorm two nights before she was supposed to leave, and forced her to lay down and let him give her a thorough back massage.

"You're _really_ tense," he marvelled. "I didn't know this amount of stress existed."

Anyone else would have gotten a snide comment in return for that, but Elphaba found herself smiling. She, despite her better judgement, _liked_ that Fiyero was generally carefree. He kept her more relaxed than she'd ever been, and he was serious where it counted.

"Fiyero," she started, "what would you think of you and Galinda coming with me to the Emerald City?"

"I'd love that, Fabala," Fiyero replied, happily. He dropped down onto his side next to her and stroked her hair. "And I know Galinda would, too."

"You two seem alright with each other," Elphaba pondered out loud.

"I think we are," Fiyero agreed. "Splitting up was the best thing for us, we both know that."

"So you should both come with me. To the Emerald City."


	12. Years

How had this happened?

The trip had started off well enough. Humourously, even. Galinda had declared that she would now be known as Glinda, as an ode to Dr Dillamond, who had consistently referred to her as such. Elphaba and Fiyero had attempted to be supportive, hiding their giggles with a kiss.

The train ride had been soothing, with the rocking of the train causing Glinda to nod off and snore daintily the entire way. Fiyero and Elphaba had been tempted to find a cabin on the train, feeling inspired to fondle each other and not wanting to do it in front of Glinda. But, they had not, and settled instead for the idea that they would have time together that night.

Elphaba had gone in to meet with the Wizard alone, while Glinda and Fiyero had waited outside. Neither had expected to be allowed in to see the Great and Powerful Oz, and they knew that Elphaba had the capacity to describe everything in detail later, so, despite their curiosity, they didn't really mind. The next thing they knew, guards were being summoned, and there was an announcement that Elphaba was evil, that she was going to spread lies about the Wizard, that she was Public Enemy number one.

They returned to Shiz in silence, Fiyero, deflated with loss, and Glinda, face stained with tear-smeared makeup. They'd parted ways with barely a word at Glinda's door - she was loathe to go into that room she had once shared with Elphaba.

Fiyero made his way stoically to his dorm, and, once alone, flopped down onto his bed. It smelled like her. Something inside him broke, and his chest constricted until all he could do to release that pain was sob angrily into a pillow. He had never really cried before, not as an adult. It felt awful, which he found fitting, considering the ache that threatened to cease his heartbeat.

Everyone at school was talking about it, staring at Glinda and Fiyero as they passed. The two kept close to each other, being the only two who still loved Elphaba, save her sister, who they didn't really know. It turned out most people thought they were still a couple, and why wouldn't they? Elphaba and Fiyero had been very private about their relationship, and nobody had had contact with Glinda or Fiyero since their split.

Elphaba had completely vanished.

She was gone.

Fiyero made a point of seeking out Nessarose, Elphaba's sister, to check up on her. He'd met her briefly, and seen her a few times, but they'd never said more than ten words to each other. Elphaba kept her family fairly separate from her friends; everything from information about her mother to quality time with her sister, though Fiyero knew that she had spent time with Nessa often.

"Hello, Miss Nessarose," he said one day, in the courtyard. Nessa was sitting in her wheelchair, reading. The girl looked up at him, a little confused. "I'm Fiyero Tiggular. Remember, we've met?"

"Oh yes, of course, Master Tiggular," Nessa remembered. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," he replied. "But I wanted to know how you're doing, with this whole Elphaba thing."

Nessarose stiffened in her chair. "She's a dishonour to my family."

Fiyero couldn't believe this girl could say such a thing about her own sister, especially knowing how Elphaba had cared for her her entire life. "Oh," was all he could say.

'Well that was a bloody waste of time,' Fiyero thought, after excusing himself from Nessa's haughty presence. 'Now what?'

Gathering all his courage, Boq approached Glinda one day while she was alone, and told her he was sorry about her friend. Nobody who hadn't known Elphaba had referred to her as anything but _The Witch_ since The Emerald City. Glinda was intrigued by Boq, by his sympathy, but was too distracted to really process the implications of his kindness.

She spent a lot of time worried about Fiyero, which was strange, but easier than worrying about herself.

How long would it be before he could breathe again? How was he supposed to go about his studies, his daily life, _existing_ without Elphaba? Glinda was no help at all - she did what she always did: smiled, and pretended everything was fine. She eventually went off on her own with her old friends more and more, leaving Fiyero alone with his thoughts, which he preferred, anyway.

Nobody could find Elphaba. She had done a good job of becoming invisible. Fiyero thought frantically of places she could be, but could think of none. The places that were to be expected had been scoured - and Fabala was too smart for that, anyway. He wanted to search for her, but didn't know how to do it on his own.

Years passed.

Glinda was named Glinda the Good, and she and Fiyero fell into a sort of false relationship. To the public, they appeared to be a happy couple, all smiles and kisses. But in private, they slept in different rooms, Fiyero, when not searching for Elphaba (now as Captain of the Gale Force) drank often. Glinda was content to lie through her teeth to the citizens of Oz, even to herself.

"Fiyero, my dear friend," Glinda sighed one evening as they shared a rare dinner. "You have driven yourself insanified with all this relentless searching. She knows how to find us. If she wants to, she will."

"That satisfies you?"

"I make do with it, after all, I am rather busy with other tasks."

"Yes, smiling and waving," Fiyero grumbled, pushing his food around his plate. "I'm starting to think I did all of this wrong."

"Howso?" Glinda wasn't really listening, or curious. She was used to his moods by now, and basically patronized him by letting him vent.

"The entire region is convinced that you and I are together. What if Elphaba thinks I never really cared for her, what if she thinks we're really together? What if she's heard I'm the captain of the Gale Force, and _won't_ come and find us?"

"Well, that is a possibility," Glinda admitted.

Angry at Glinda's apathy, Fiyero left the table without a word.

_Elphaba wouldn't think those things, would she?_ Glinda hated the thought of her friend feeling betrayed - especially seeing as how Glinda had gone to work for the Wizard. She knew she should show more emotion to Fiyero, knew that he was the only person in the world who knew that her dearest friend wasn't wicked, and they should be united over that. But when she thought of Elphaba, off doing Oz-knows-what, living Oz-knows-where, it made her hurt in a way she simply wasn't able to deal with. Her life had been a joyride until Elphaba had fled the Wizard - she was ill-equipped to process that sort of loss.

In his room, dark liquor in hand, Fiyero wondered why the charade of his relationship with Glinda had seemed necessary. At the time, they'd reasoned that if they were suddenly single, and Fiyero wasn't dating, it would be clear it had something to do with Elphaba, and they'd be outcast. How could he find Elphaba if he was hauled off to jail? Also, it had been easier - Glinda hadn't really felt like dating, and Fiyero didn't want to so much as look at anyone but Elphaba.

But as time had gone on, it had become clear they were now in a sort of contract. People trusted the handsome prince and the sorceress of the north, and, united, they held the faith of the people of Oz. Fiyero was free to "hunt" for the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda was free to have pretty things and be an eye and ear in the goings-on. If they were separate, people might lose faith in them. Glinda would have to try to find someone who didn't loathe Elphaba, and Fiyero would probably have to resign as captain of the Gale Force.

He had vivid dreams of Elphaba, dreams that she would suddenly appear before him and they would make love for hours. Dreams that he could talk to her. He began to talk aloud to her, which helped, briefly, but that place, where they could be in the same room, was like a bandaid over a gaping wound. He ventured there, but knew that pretending to be with Elphaba didn't soften that dull, sick ache of realizing that it wasn't real.

The Land of What Might Have Been taunted him. He wanted to live there always, wanted to sit by a window and stare into space and imagine she was in his lap, in his arms. But, of course, he couldn't do that.

Haggard with lack of sleep and abundance of yearning, Fiyero thought things couldn't get any worse, but they did. One night in August, he received word that his father had passed away. He was King of the Vinkus, which he didn't really want to be, and he was fatherless, which he _knew_ he didn't want to be.

He'd made little time to return home and see his family in the past years, and now it was too late to do the latter, or, at least, to see his entire family. He did return home, however, alone. He told Glinda the people of Oz needed her, that she needn't feel obligated to him, that she'd feel out of place among the customs and peoples of the Vinkus, and she seemed relieved.

The funeral was long, and full of much ceremony and tradition, as befitting a warrior king. Fiyero observed the rituals of saying goodbye to his father first as a son, then as a prince, then as the Succeeding Ruler.

At the end of the night, he returned to his room as weary as ever, his mind almost too numb to think of Elphaba. He felt the memory of her like a blanket of comfort wrapped around his heart, and, in his fatigue, simply let that be enough.

With the death of his father dividing his grief, he could feel grateful that he'd met Elphaba at all.

And, as that thought struck him, she appeared before him, halfway between the door he'd just entered through and the open window she'd clearly used as her way in.


	13. Reunion

**AN: Should this story be rated 'M'? Let me know what you think, and if enough of you think so, I'll change it. I'm simply not sure what's 'Teen' and what's... 'more than teen'. Thanks.**

Fiyero blinked, rapidly, more than once. He had imagined this moment so many times, he'd almost begun to believe it was real every time he encountered it. He was exhausted with grief; it was very plausible that his brain had officially given up living without her, and created her.

"You're not real. You're not real, but I don't care. You seem real, it's enough."

"I'm real," the hallucination vowed.

"Move something," Fiyero ordered.

"Pardon me?"

"Reach out and make something move," he clarified. Fiyero felt fixed to the floor, sure that, the moment he stepped toward her, she would vanish.

Though uncertain about why she was doing it, Elphaba took a few steps and reached out, rustling the curtains that bordered the large window that had let her in. Fiyero looked at the swaying curtains, then back at her face, and felt like he was falling down very fast.

"I heard of your father," Elphaba said, stiffly.

Fiyero rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her, instanty feeling the beginnings of tears burning in his nose. "I thought I had lost you forever," he choked out.

"Not forever," Elphaba said, patting him awkwardly on the back. "It all does feel like a lifetime ago, does it not? I didn't mean for you to see me, it was foolish to come. I simply... I was worried for you, I wanted to know that you were alright."

Fiyero leaned back and studied her guarded face. "You didn't mean for me to see you? You were going to remain hidden from me? For how long? Another four years?"

Elphaba dropped her head and her jaw twitched. "Have you missed me, then?"

Almost rageful, Fiyero pulled her body flush against his and kissed her fiercely. She struggled a little, but he grabbed the back of her head in hand and held it, so that she could not pull away. Instantly, she kissed him back, despite her best intentions to remain neutral. Instantly, she didn't care about protecting herself or him, she just wanted to feel him again. Moving onto her neck, he quickly worked his mouth over it while his hands fumbled up the back of her dress.

"Fiyero -"

"What a stupid question," he snapped, sliding her dress off of her.

"You're assuming I'm available," she admonished.

"I don't care if you're _married_, you have this coming," he grunted. Her body flew under his hands like they were a bird swooping over a breeze. "Asking if I've missed you," he grumbled, more to himself. "You, the love of my life."

Elphaba was struck defenseless by this, as he picked her up around her bottom to carry her to his bed. She wrapped her legs around him responsively, holding around his neck and returning his urgent kiss. When they dropped down, she reached to unbutton his shirt, and he bit furiously at the slip that still lay between him and her skin, kissing down her torso, exploring with his hands, sliding her underwear off, marking a route for his mouth to follow.

She pulled at his shirt while he slid away from her, and he paused to allow it to be pulled off of him, over his head. Taking his sweet time, he worked all the way to her feet, then sat back on his knees, looking at her greedily. "I _told_ you I loved you. I said it," he spat. "And you left me."

"And this is my punishment?"

"This is _my_ reward, for four years of utter, inconsolable loneliness."

"What of Glinda?"

"A sham relationship, to protect our public image and maintain the trust of the people of Oz, allowing me free reign to search for you. How I've _searched for you_," he breathed hungrily, sliding his hands up the outsides of her legs, pushing her slip up over her body.

She sat up, allowing him to pull it over her head, then leaned back on her hands, arms locked. Fiyero gazed upon her, completely naked, and loosened his trousers. "I was away from you to protect you," Elphaba explained. "I couldn't stand the thought of you in harm."

"Just misery," he said, bracing himself over her. "Tell me to stop."

"No," she argued.

"You'd better tell me to, if you want me to," he said, lowering his weight onto her.

"I don't want you to."

Had they been together when they'd been at Shiz, Fiyero might have had the patience to go slowly, to be extremely gentle. But after the initial moment when they were joined, responding to her urging, he moved with power and lust. Elphaba moved with him, the heat between their bodies exploding all over her skin, her breathing haggard. Fiyero sucked on her neck, her shoulder, her left breast, her right breast, her neck again. He kissed her deeply, feeling pleasure build inside him, almost crying at the joy of what was happening, not a single thought in his head; he was all emotion.

Joy. Warmth. Lust. Heat. Pleasure. Fire. Fire. Fire.

Finishing together, they flopped back, listless and weak. Fiyero nudged at her neck with his mouth, completely spent. Elphaba, legs still looped around his waist, hugged her to him and tilted her head down to kiss his temple. They drifted off into a half-sleep, with Elphaba forcing herself to remain on the alert for any sound of someone approaching. While Fiyero dozed next to her, she gazed at him in disbelief, and felt a rush of wanting him all over again. _Perhaps when he woke_.

It was as if being with her had taken him back in time four years. When he roused, he was almost the exact same Fiyero he'd been at Shiz, feeling relaxed and carefree. He had everything again, because he had her. It was as if the cloud of agony that had followed him around for four years had floated away, the pent-up frusteration (emotionally and sexually) no longer plaguing him.

It was when he realized how much better he felt that dread set in: how did Elphaba feel?

He'd been rough with her, he'd left her little choice, or, at least, he felt like he'd pretty much decided to have her and then taken her. He thought he recalled asking her, and her saying to proceed. But he couldn't even be sure, his head had been spinning. He looked at her and found that she had drifted off.

'Look at her,' he thought to himself. 'I love her. I love her. I love her. She's still here, so that's a good sign. I love her. I love her.'

He kissed her softly, and she woke up, smiling at him, pulling her arms tight around him again, wishing she hadn't lost her grip in her sleep. "Fiyero," she sighed.

"Fabala... How, uh, how are you?"

Elphaba chuckled a little. "I am well, how are you?"

"That's not what I mean. I mean... I'm sorry, about before."

"You are? Do you wish we hadn't -"

"No, no, I'm not feeling regret, well I am, but I more... Are you _alright?_"

"Ohh," Elphaba realized. "Of course."

He braced himself up on his elbows and looked down at her, thumbing her face. "I was too eager, I was forceful -"

"I'm not complaining," she assured him.

"I've been over that moment so many times in my mind. And I always thought I'd be more respectful, that I'd be gentle, because I love you, and I want you to know that, I want you to feel that." Her eyebrows furrowed together, and he continued. "But as soon as I saw you..."

Elphaba smiled as if she had a secret, which made Fiyero instantly ready to go again.

"Let me try again," he whispered, sucking on her earlobe.

"I insist upon it," Elphaba commanded. "Oh, and Fiyero," she added.

"Yes?"

He paused and looked at her, which threw her a little, but she was determined to tell him, while she had the chance. "I love you."


	14. Travel

Four years. It had taken four years for them to be together this way, four years for Elphaba to say that she loved him.

Fiyero kissed her gently, a look of joy on the brink of pain on his face. "Say it again."

"I'm not sure I can," Elphaba admitted. Fiyero kissed her again.

"If you don't love me, then don't say you do... But if you _do_, I've waited a long time to hear those words."

"I love you, Fiyero." Elphaba felt her pulse spike as she whispered it, but soldiered on. "I don't know why it's so hard to say, I don't know why I didn't say it back at Shiz, I don't know why I couldn't trust myself to be with you then, either. I'm unsure of a lot of things, I regret a lot. I rethink a lot. But I am certain I love you."

She had spent four years in torment, falling asleep at night with thought of Fiyero burning her brain. She'd torn into herself, regretting beyond words that she'd never returned his words of love, that she'd never allowed herself to let go and be with him. It had been torturous, yearning for something she'd had the oppertunity to experience.

"After we've had each other again, we should run," Fiyero suggested. "Make a break for it while it's dark."

"That's insane. We can't run off together," Elphaba said softly, while simultaneously thinking how nice it was that he didn't say 'after I_'ve_ had _you_ again'. 'After _we've_ had _each other_...' She wasn't his property, she wasn't simply there to please him, she was an equal partner to him. They were there for each other.

"Why not? Oz will assume I stayed in the Vinkus, nobody will be any the wiser. And we can be together. Always," he fantasized, again resuming his work on her earlobe.

"Where would we go?"

Fiyero thought for a moment, then seemed to light up. "Kiamo Ko. It's... our other castle. The one we don't live at."

Elphaba snorted, though she wasn't overly surprised. "Won't people think to search there?"

"The people of the Vinkus will do as I say, and have little interest in aiding the Wizard. The people of the Emerald City and its surrounding lands won't think to search for you at _my_ castle... We can at least be there until we think of something."

"You don't think the people of Oz will notice when you don't return? What about Glinda?"

"I've told you, it's a façade. It's a sham relationship, she knows it, I know it."

"But the people of Oz do not."

"Right..." Fiyero felt that wrench thrown in the works like it had hit him square in the head. "Well, who cares about them?"

"You'd publicly humilate Glinda?" Elphaba looked angry. "And cause for people to search for you? If you don't come back from the Vinkus, they will come for you, and discover you gone, and then what? Everyone has to lie for you? Will they say you're dead? That the king of the Vinkus died and nobody mourned him? Or that you've run off, shirking your birthright and your commitment to Glinda the Good simultaneously?"

Fiyero was impressed at how fast she thought. "Your brain is beautiful," he murmured, kissing her.

"Don't distract me," she bossed gently.

"I'm motivating you to think fast," he said, grinning against her collarbone as he kissed toward the hollow at the base of her neck.

Elphaba sighed and attempted to think fast, moaning slightly at the sensation of his tongue massaging her skin, at the knowledge that it was _Fiyero_ exploring her. "I have an idea," she gasped. "It... It makes me look awful, but it leaves little question about you... And... I'm not sure how it will all come together, we'll have to talk about it..." She took a deep breath, raking her fingers through Fiyero's hair as he kissed up her neck. "We'll have to talk... after."

In the dead of night, a letter was left for Fiyero's mother, and Elphaba and Fiyero disappeared into the dark.

When they reached Kiamo Ko, they gathered what they would need, they finalized plans, and they held each other. "I still worry about you going to see Nessarose," Fiyero admitted. "Don't you think it's too risky?"

"I have to at least try to get her on my side... Or, say goodbye, as it well may be."

"I hope you don't have to do that."

"I should go, while it's still dark," Elphaba said, eyeing the world outside a nearby window.

"Please, be careful," he begged.

"You, too."

"Do you have everything you need?" Elphaba nodded, holding up the sack of supplies she had flung over her shoulder. "Elphaba, I -" Fiyero paused, and looked deep into her eyes. Somehow, saying the words felt like a goodbye. But how could he _not_ say them?

"I know," she said. "Me, too." After a final kiss, Elphaba departed for Munchkinland, and Fiyero began to set up their escape.

Word of Elphaba's return spread through Oz like wildfire, as if she _were_ wildfire. People screamed and fled in panic, barring their doors and windows, holding their children near.

In a courtyard at the palace, the Gale Force assembled with Glinda, almost as useless as the people of the Emerald City.

"She visited the Governor of Munchkinland earlier!"

"She's on a rampage!"

The men were all shouting to be heard, voices high-pitched with panic, and Glinda the Good was getting a headache from it. Finally, she put two fingers to her mouth and whistled, silencing everyone.

"She did no damage to the Governor, Miss Nessarose _is_ her sister, after all," Glinda said, an even tone to her voice. "If you're all so concerned about her whereabouts, why don't you simply spread out and look for her?"

"We have no leader. We need our Captain of the Guard!"

Hovering above the courtyard, Elphaba cackled maliciously, drawing all eyes to the sky. "I _met_ your Captain of the Guard. Flimsy, and brainless, couldn't even scare the birds out of his way!! I felt it appropriate to give him a more suitable form!" And with that, she dropped a scarecrow, dressed in Fiyero's Gale Force uniform, into the courtyard, then, cackling again, disappeared into the night, dodging the shots taken at her by the few men with enough presence of mind to aim their rifles in her direction.

Glinda screamed and promptly fainted, and the Gale Forcers were torn. _She could do that to a man?_ They weren't sure if they wanted to pursue her, but knew they had no choice.

"Follow her," one of them ordered. "Fan out throughout the city, mount your horses men, come on!"

Only a few blocks away, Elphaba landed awkwardly and clutched at her arm. When she pulled her hand away, it was glistening with blood. "Damn," she cursed, the throbbing in her arm blinding her.

"You're bleeding," she heard a low voice say from behind her. She spun, startled, and found herself face to face with Avaric. He was still as good-looking as he'd been four years ago, if not moreso. Had his skill at torture improved, as well, then?

"It's no business of yours," she spat at him.

"Is it bad?"

"It's fine."

"Well, it was enough to get you off your broom," he pondered, stepping toward her. Elphaba took an instinctive step back. "Elphaba," Avaric murmured. "I'm not going to hurt you. I was an asshole back at Shiz. I'm still mostly an asshole now, but I know right from wrong. And I know," he paused, and lowered his voice, "I _know_ the Wizard is wrong."

Elphaba gazed at him defiantly, which he found appealing. With maturity and time, he'd come to see that a woman of strength was good, that constantly pushing someone around wasn't much fun. In the distance, they heard the shouting of the Gale Forcers. Avaric ripped a section off his shirt and quickly tied it around Elphaba's arm, then buttoned his coat so that the rip wasn't visible.

"Get out of here," he whispered.

"You'll turn me in," she accused.

"Never." He paused, listening to the men drawing nearer, spurred on by the cheers of the townspeople. "Just go," Avaric said.

_Was he trying to make up for threatening her all those years ago? _

"Thank you, Avaric."

He looked at Elphaba, surprised at the earnestness in her voice. She looked pretty, downright sexy, all windswept and damp with evening mist. _She'd always been pretty._

Feeling bashful, terrified, and awkward, Avaric leaned forward and kissed Elphaba's cheek, then pulled back, lest he be struck in the face. She looked shocked, and confused, but not angry. "Run," Avaric choked. "I'll tell them you went the opposite way."

He had a look in his eye that was a lot like longing, one Elphaba recognized from hours of seeing it in Fiyero. 'Strange,' she thought. 'He has a heart.' Impulsively, she leaned to him and kissed him on the cheek, then, just like that, she was gone.

Avaric loitered in the alleyway until the Gale Force encountered him, then pointed them in the wrong direction.


	15. Schemes

Elphaba returned to Kiamo Ko phased, and staggered into Fiyero's arms. "Fae," he exclaimed, concerned. "Are you alright?"

"They will have followed me, even if they were misled, I'm sure they'll find me," Elphaba said, dropping her cape and twisting her arm to look at her wound. The temporary bandage Avaric had tied around it was soaked clean through with blood.

"Oz, Elphaba," Fiyero cried. "You're bleeding!"

"That scarecrow seemed to scare them silly, but a few Gale Forcers shot at me. I think it just grazed the skin." Fiyero had removed her makeshift bandage, and was holding her hand up in the air. As he did, he moved closer to her and wrapped his other arm around her waist, nestling his face next to hers.

"How did it go with Nessa?"

"Awful. She's all alone in that big old house, and angry about it. And angry at me. I... My father died," Elphaba announced, with a blankness to her voice that made Fiyero pull her tighter. He lowered her arm and re-wrapped it as she continued. "She said he died of embarassment. Shame, because of me..." Elphaba paused and closed her eyes, willing tears not to come. Fiyero saw this and placed both hands on the back of her head, pulling her face to his shoulder.

She didn't cry. She focused on how good it felt to be held by Fiyero, she reminded herself that her father had never seen any good in her, why would he start when she'd been named Enemy Number One? The logic made sense, it overrode her emotions, and then she felt different ones. She'd never really had that option before. She'd used logic to to stamp out pain, been cold on purpose, and then been left with nothing but cold. But here, nestled next to Fiyero, she was content.

"I'm sorry, Fabala," he whispered in her ear. "I love you."

"I love you more," she said, as if it were an afterthought.

"Not possible."

Elphaba tried to look at him with anything but a smile and found she couldn't. "You've made me soft," she accused.

"You're tough as nails," Fiyero promised her, kissing the end of her nose.

"I'm the Wicked Witch of the West," she proclaimed, her voice bouncing off the stone walls and surrounding her. There was a callousness to the name, and to her tone of voice when she said it, that made Fiyero uneasy.

"Please don't call Elphaba that," he requested. "They've been saying it for years and it never gets any easier to hear. I love her, you see," he explained, pulling her closer to him.

"I heard a rumour," Elphaba said, playing along, "that she thinks you're alright as well."

Both knew they were being overly whimsical, and that it was only highlighting the fact that things could take a turn for the worse at any moment, but they were content to play along with each other, to take a moment to breathe.

"Did you get everything set up while I was gone?"

"Yes," Fiyero seemed to hesitate. "Though I worry about all of this going on without anyone telling Glinda."

"Look who's being brainy and cautious," Elphaba commented. "I know what you mean, but I simply think it's too risky - for all of us." Elphaba's chin wavered a little, and she blinked a few times and took a deep breath. Fiyero's hand flew to her face, his thumb brushing her bottom lip, and she continued on. "I do miss her terribly, Fiyero."

Back in the Emerald City, Glinda the Good was sobbing uncontrollably in the courtyard, refusing to go near Fiyero the Scarecrow. She wondered how Elphaba could have done something so awful. Had she thought he was really a Gale Forcer? Had she forgotten how he'd loved her, or had she heard of him and Glinda and believed the lie?

"M-Miss Glinda," she heard a voice stammer. She turned and discovered a familiar face peering at her from the entrance to the courtyard. She couldn't place it.

"I'm Boq, we went to school together? At Shiz?"

"Of course," she said, remembering that he'd been kind to her after Elphaba's disappearance. "What can I do for you?"

"I, well, I ran into another old school chum... He says he has news for you." Glinda was confusified by this, but shrugged, and stood, daintily patting her face with her hands. "Here," Boq said, holding a handkerchief out toward her. She took it gratefully and dabbed at hr face with it. "Follow me," he said, taking her gently by the arm and leading her to the Palace gates.

Glinda the Good was immediately reverted to Galinda Upland (of the UpperUplands) when face to face with Avaric, who she despised. "I assure you, I have no interest in discussicating anything with _this_ man," she said curtly, narrowing her eyes at the tall, handsome man.

"Please," Avaric said. "It's about Elphaba. She's hurt, and they're after her."

"Well, of course everyone's after her, she showed up here and dropped Fiyero's body into the courtyard," Glinda snapped.

Avaric looked confused. "Seriously? She killed Fiyero?"

"Well, she turned him into a scarecrow."

Avaric laughed heartily. "She did, did she?"

"It's not funny," Glinda snapped. "You are _wicked_, yourself, to laugh at such a thing."

"I simply don't believe it," Avaric shrugged.

"Why not? She is a very powerful witch, who always had a knack for sorcery," Glinda battled, her voice raising in pitch and volume.

Boq, who would have believed anything Glinda said, didn't know what to think about all of this, but he knew that their conversation could be overheard from where they were. "Perhaps we should move this discussion somewhere a little more... private."

Glinda was still unwilling to be near Avaric. "We're done here," she announced.

"They'll kill her," Avaric tried.

"Won't that be nice for you," Glinda sneered. "They'll finish off what you started all those years ago."

"I regret that," Avaric said, hastily. "I'm sorry, I was... I was confused, about her, I was... I thought... Don't let them kill her. You can stop it."

"I can do nothing of the sort, I have no control over the guards, and I don't even know where she is."

"I can tell you what direction she went in," Avaric revealed. "And I can tell you I pointed the Gale Force the other way." Boq gaped at Avaric. "You could still have time," the man pleaded.

"You're in love with her," Glinda realized.

"Don't be ridiculous, I don't even know her. But I do care about what happens to her," Avaric admitted.

"Because you love her?"

Avaric glared at Boq, who regretted speaking. "We all know people, on the peripheral of our lives, who we think of," Avaric said carefully, looking from Boq to Glinda with a knowing gaze. "People who we don't _actually_ know, but who we care about. Am I right?"

Boq said nothing, but helt heat creep up his neck and into his ears. Glinda didn't get it.

"Go West," Avaric said, changing the subject instantly and addressing Glinda, who still looked disgusticified to be talking to him. "She's... In the Vinkus, she has to be." Glinda still looked unconvinced, which frusterated Avaric. "If she dies because you hate me, you'll never forgive yourself, nor should you."

Glinda was about to comply when Madame Morrible appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, as she always did. Avaric disappeared fast, leaving Boq and Glinda paused mid-conversation and unsure of how much Morrible had heard. "My dear Miss Glinda," Morrible purred. "The Wicked Witch has eluded us once more. We're attempting to smoke her out, but she has no connections here."

"Nobody but her sister," Glinda murmured absently, thinking again of Fiyero and feeling as though there was something about the scarecrow she should know.

"What a perfect idea," Morrible chimed. "Her _sister._"

"Wait, what?" Glinda felt her heart sink. "No, Elph- The Witch has nothing to do with her sister, and -"

"Well that remains to be seen, does it not?" Morrible's face contorted into its typical grimmace. "What a chill in the air," she commented. "I think I feel a change in the weather."


	16. Attempts

Galinda Upland (of the UpperUplands) would have royally botched the entire situation. But Glinda the Good was on the ball. She _was_ the ball. A very sparkly, very pretty ball.

She arrived at the Governor's House unannounced and flounced in, determined to save Nessarose from whatever horrendible plan Morrible had cooked up in the millisecond she'd had to think. Glinda couldn't help but wonder how a person could be so naturally gifted at thinking awful thoughts, and then wondered if Morrible could _read_ _her_ thoughts, and then, quite easily, stopped _wondering_.

It wouldn't do her any good to walk around thinking disrespectatious things about the overblown fishwoman. She'd be tossed in jail for sure, and stripes just weren't her thing.

"Miss Nessarose," Glinda called as she was shown into the Governor's office. "I am going to tell you something that you are going to listen to and then we are going to have tea."

Nessa was behind a desk, reading some papers. For a brief moment, hunched over, with reading glasses, and in light faint enough so that she might have been some other colour, the wheelchair-bound girl was strikingly reminiscent of her sister, in a way that made Glinda's heart jump up into her throat.

Nessa raised her head and narrowed her eyes in Glinda's direction, though how Glinda's distinctive voice didn't reveal her identity, nobody would ever know. She finally realized who it was and pushed herself out from behind the desk. "Your Goodness," she said, bowing her head.

"Nonsense, with the formal greeting. You're Elphie's sister, your bows are no good here."

Nessarose looked like she had smelled something foul, when she heard her sister's name. "What is it you have come for?"

"I came to warn you. Somebody is going to try to use you to trap your sister, and I simply won't have it. Neither of you deserve that."

"I am safe here," Nessa said indignantly. "I _am_ the Governor, after all!"

"And a very good one," Glinda purred amiably. "So stay inside, if it is where you're safest. Don't... don't get caught in the rain. Or the wind."

_A change in the weather._ Only when she'd heard Nessa say she was safe _insde_ did Glinda realize that Morrible had a knack for what went on _outside_.

"I can't very well stay in this house," Nessa argued. "I can't live in fear that someone may try to punish me for my sister's _wickedness._"

"She's not wicked," Glinda said softly. "You are wrong about her, and it's revoltifying, considering you're _supposed_ to be her sister."

"I have a meeting with the Wizard," Nessarose announced. "In little under an hour. I cannot miss it. If you'll excuse me."

"I can't warn you any more than I have," Glinda sighed. "I only thought you'd have _half _ the brains of your kin."

With that, Glinda turned and flounced away, leaving a stunned Nessarose alone once more.

Boq was waiting for her in the carriage, unsure of what kind of mood Glinda would be in when she returned. He felt sympathy tug at his heart when she sat resignedly across from him and sighed. He'd always thought he loved her, all the way through Shiz, all the way until this moment. But, seeing her looking weak, pale and tired, he realized: he'd been in love with an illusion. She's been the perfect trophy, the beautiful Good Witch of the North, and he'd seen nothing beyond that.

It had been lust, a crush. He'd known nothing about her, but convinced himself it was love, anyway. Now, however, seeing her attempt to warn Nessarose, seeing her as a real woman for (he was embarassed to admit) the first time, he knew that he didn't love her - but he _could_, if he had the chance.

"Miss Glinda," he said. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Please, just call me Glinda," the blonde sighed.

"Alright..." Boq cleared his throat. "Glinda, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Do you remember, after Elphaba was declared Wicked," Glinda started. It surprised Boq, to hear his former classmate called by her real name. "Do you remember that you came to me, and told me you were sorry?"

"Yes," Boq said softly, his heart still nearly failing him at the memory of the courage it had taken.

"I really appreciated that," she said, her voice more than a little sad.

"M - Glinda," Boq said, glancing around their small carriage, before boldly stepping across it and sitting close to her. "I have a very serious question to ask you." Glinda looked confused, and wary, but nodded for him to continue. "Is Elphaba _really_ wicked?"

Glinda's reaction was, in Boq's opinion, the _worst_ reaction it could have been. She started to _cry_. Deep, shuddering sobs, that should have been loud but, painfully, were silent, as if she were well-practiced at crying quietly. Secretly. Boq threw his arms around her shaking shoulders, and began to apologize profusely.

"No, no," Glinda interrupted. "No, don't be sorry... It's just... It makes me sad, the way they talk about her, but... I'm not crying because I'm sad..." She took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye. "You have no idea how nice it is that someone might not hate her all the way through."

"Well, of course not," Boq said, wiping her tears with his thumbs. "I've never seen her do anything wrong. And she was your friend, and... I saw her at Shiz. She didn't seem wicked, then, one week later, she was?"

Glinda nestled in closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "You are a very good man, Boq," she said. "Where have you been all these years? Why haven't we been in touch?"

"I've been around," Boq admitted. "But you were so busy, with your duties, and ...Fiyero."

Glinda sniffled. "I feel so sorry for Fiyero," she said, either forgetting herself or simply deciding that the truth was a nice change of pace. "He misses Elphaba so terribly..."

"They were good friends?"

"They were in _love_," Glinda sighed. "He and I broke up before winter break of that first year. Then, a month later, Elphaba was on the run. He's never gotten over her."

"But the two of you -"

"Aren't really together. Remember how everyone just assumed we were? Nobody knew we'd broken up. And neither of us wanted to date, at first. And then everyone just... _liked_ us together. And so we just pretended to be. Which is funny, because I broke up with him because I didn't want to pretend anymore. I knew he was in love with Elphie, you see," she added, still proud of herself for having put all the clues together.

"You mean... _all this time, you've been SINGLE?"_

"I suppose so, yes."

"_Glinda_," Boq said, determined. "I am going to kiss your lips. Right now."

And so he did.

Glinda wasn't prepared for it - she'd certainly never been kissed recklessly in a place and time such as this. Usually, she felt _flawless_ going into a kiss: hair, makeup and outfit perfect, following a date in which she _knew_ she was absoluteively charmifying, following a day in which she'd done nothing but relax and prepare for her date that night.

In the carriage, at that moment, Glinda felt tired, and rumpled. Her makeup, she knew, was probably a mess from her tears. She'd spent the day attending to business, and then setting out to warn Nessarose, whose sister had dropped Fiyero's body to the ground the night before. She didn't feel very romantic, she didn't have the energy to be precious and kind and seductive - and Boq didn't seem to care.

Furthermore, Glinda didn't care.

It felt nice, his lips pressed against hers. She put pressure into the kiss, hoping he would take the hint and continue to kiss her, which he did. They kissed and kissed, Glinda feeling alive for the first time in four years, and Boq feeling alive for the first time _ever_.

At Kiamo Ko, Elphaba and Fiyero watched a mob of Witch Hunters draw ever closer.


	17. Hunters

Nessarose Thropp was not one to take kindly to orders. She'd spent all her life depending on others, and took pride in her current state of power and independence. But something about Glinda's arrival, the urgency in her voice, the disappointment she'd shown when Nessa hadn't agreed to her plan had gotten through to the Governor.

Nessa sent word to cancel her meeting with the Wizard, and stayed indoors. Morrible was furious, until she received word that The Wicked Witch may have been found out, without using her sister as bait.

The Witch Hunters, upon hearing of Fiyero's transformation, had come to the conclusion that The Wicked Witch had killed him and taken over his castle. It didn't help that Fiyero's entire life was public knowledge - he wasn't even aware that people knew about Kiamo Ko. But they did, and they'd fanned out over Oz looking for her, and, upon thinking of the dreary castle, decided that it was as good a place as any.

They'd been visible for days in advance, creeping across the plains like embers swept off a fire, their torches shining, their yells racing ahead of them and up the towers of Kiamo Ko.

Elphaba and Fiyero spent hours in a clinch, savoring every moment they could grab, every inch they could explore. They waited, patiently, until, finally, the group of angry Ozians began their ascent up the steep mountain toward their fortress. They watched at a window, as they had been doing for days, they heard the angry cries for justice, and they held each other.

Ahead of them, somehow, perhaps because he wasn't afraid, Avaric found a way to the castle. Why nobody but him had thought to come by horse, he didn't know, but he was glad he could get there before the mob.

"You again," Elphaba muttered when she spied him in the early morning light, just outside the main doors.

"Elphaba, you have to get out of here, they think -"

It was then that Fiyero appeared, and, furious, punched Avaric in the face. "Well at least I know I was right about you not being made of straw," Avaric shrugged, massaging his aching jaw. "That was a pretty clever trick, by the way."

"What are you doing here, leading the charge?"

"Trying to warn you," Avaric said, looking upon the way Elphaba stared his former friend, with his dreamy blue eyes and prettyboy good looks, and, for once, wishing he wasn't a rugged jerk but simply a goodhearted guy with great hair.

"You're a liar," Fiyero accused. "You're no good, and you never were."

"I'm a lot of things," Avaric admitted. "I'm the man most likely to be in a Dirty Mistresses club, and I don't do well with liquor, but I'm not a liar."

"It's true," Elphaba murmured. "He's not lying about any of that."

Avaric smiled at her, which made Fiyero even angrier. "Don't even look at her," he spat, through clenched teeth.

"_The Dirty Mistresses Club_," Elphaba pondered. "I think, if things had gone differently a few years ago, I might have belonged to that club. Luckily," she added, "Glinda's smarter than she looks. Or acts"

"Not really," Avaric winced. "She thinks that scarecrow is actually Fiyero."

Elphaba snorted, and Fiyero gaped at Avaric, then Elphaba. "Why are you joking around with this asshole?"

"He saved me, back in the Emerald City. I didn't mention it at the time," she said, placing a hand on Fiyero's arm and gazing into his eyes. "They'd have been here days ago if he'd betrayed me."

"He tried to kill you," Fiyero reminded her, incredulous.

"That is regrettable," Avaric piped up, his eyes wandering over Elphaba's body in her form-fitting dress. "I feel bad about it," he offered.

"Why are you here?"

Fiyero clearly wanted Avaric away from them as soon as possible. Avaric sighed, thinking of the years of friendship he'd thrown away one drunken night at a winter charity ball, and knowing he deserved it. "I wanted to warn you," he repeated. "Though," he added, gazing in the direction of the Emerald City, "I can see that _you_ can see them coming. Why haven't you fled?"

"They'll always be chasing us, no matter where we go," Elphaba said.

"Well, thanks for the heads-up, come back soon," Fiyero said, taking Avaric's arm and leading him away from Elphaba.

"Wait," Avaric pleaded. "I know you hate me and you don't trust me and I don't blame you, but..." he looked searchingly back at Elphaba, and Fiyero's lip curled in disgust.

"Don't look at her like that. Or at all," he said ordered, again.

"Let me say goodbye to you guys."

"Fiyero," Elphaba chided. "He can't do us any more harm than the violent mob that's making its way toward us at the moment."

"He can make my physically nauseous," Fiyero retorted.

"Nauseated," Elphaba corrected.

Fiyero sighed and looked Avaric square in the eye. "I have nothing to say to you," he said, and stepped away from Avaric. "If you harm one hair on her head, your death will be slow and painful. I will end you," he warned, "_hours_ after you give up begging for mercy."

Avaric nodded. "Good luck, Fiyero," he said, as the king of the Vinkus turned and strode away.

"I'll be just inside," Fiyero whispered to Elphaba as he passed her.

Elphaba raised an eyebrow at Avaric, who walked to her and took her hands in his. "Won't you please run for it?"

She shook her head, resolute. "Don't worry, what is meant to be will be," she promised him.

"Fiyero's a good man. Smart, and independent. I know he's done some bonehead things in the past, but none akin to any of the stunts I've pulled," Avaric said, hanging his head. "He's a good man, so I know he's good to you. I hope you're happy, in the end."

"I will be," Elphaba promised him.

"I think just as I'm discovering I have a heart... I think it might be breaking," Avaric confessed, dropping her hands.

"Hearts will never be practical until they are made unbreakable," she sighed.

"I hope I never have to find out what happens if mine fails me."

"Good luck, Avaric. And thank you," Elphaba said, as he turned back and mounted his horse.

"Please live through this."

Elphaba nodded at him, and he disappeared down the slope and around a bend. Silently, The Wicked Witch of the West hoped that the man's heart would be protected from pain, no matter how, and then returned to Fiyero, who was anxiously waiting for her inside.

Hours later, in the hazy chill of dusk, the crowd of Witch Hunters broke through the gates of Kiamo Ko. "Marry me," Fiyero said, impulsively.

"This is a most inopportune time," Elphaba informed him.

"When else can I say it?"

"Later," she said, frazzled.

"Elphaba. Marry me."

"Let's see if we make it through this, first," she said, and, with that, strode away from him to meet the Witch Hunters.

**A/N: I just had to reference the Mark Sloan vs. Derek Shepherd-ness of Avaric and Fiyero with that Dirty Mistresses Club comment. For the record, Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rimes. AND WICKED BELONGS TO ME... OH, wait...**

**Also, thanks so much for all the reviews thusfar (I meant to say something when I broke 100, but forgot) - I think this story will be finished in a chapter or two... P.S. thusfar, I've tried to honour some requests from people, making it a little trickier to end the story the way I wanted to. At the end, I'll tell you which things were originally going to be different, but only if you continue to review...**


	18. Celebration

"Let the joyous news be spread, the Wicked old Witch, at last, is dead!"

They had melted her. Nobody had stopped to wonder why The Wicked Witch, with a soul so black with filth that pure water could melt her, had made herself so available to them, and so near to that bucket of water. The Witch Hunters had rejoicified, and spread joy throughout the land.

Glinda the Good had been miserable. She had saved Nessarose, but at what cost? Should she have found a way to Elphaba first? Would Elphaba have listened? Glinda knew that her friend probably wouldn't have, but, still, shouldn't she have tried?

As she watched the celebration (on it's fourth straight day) from her balcony above the Emerald City, she had felt Boq's reassuring grip around her waist and leaned back against him. Their relationship had developed rapidly, but in a way completely unlike any Glinda had ever experienced. Boq knew everything about her, but, in the three weeks they'd spent together, hadn't done more than kiss her or hold her hand.

Three weeks wasn't very long, but, to Glinda, who'd spent years longing to be held, it had felt like an eternity. They'd spent almost every hour of the day together, with no secret bonding them more than the truth about Elphaba. They knew she wasn't wicked. Glinda felt foolish for believing that Fiyero had been turned into a scarecrow, thanks to Boq's gentle questioning.

The scarecrow had been placed in a nearby cornfield, and had become a strange sort of shrine to Fiyero Tiggular, the handsome and brave former Captain of the Guard.

Nobody bothered to communicate with those barbaric Winkies to see how _they_ were doing.

Morrible and the Wizard were trying desperately to maintain control of the people of Oz, and, finding that was hard to do without blaming someone for everyone's troubles, made the mistake of trying to create a new Wicked Witch. They trapped Nessarose Thropp in all sorts of legal dead-ends, erecting new laws like brick walls, blocking her from protecting the people of Munchkinland.

There was something amuck, however. There were still Animal movements, there was still the ever-lingering presence of Elphaba Thropp. Morrible decided to have Glinda the Good tailed.

Determined now more than ever to save the remaining Thropp sister, Glinda the Good decided to travel to the Governor's mansion, though she wasn't sure what good being there would do.

As it turned out, she should have left well enough alone. True to form, Morrible and a handful of Gale Forcers followed Glinda on her journey.

"Miss Glinda," Morrible interrupted, barging in on both the Good and Wicked Witches. "This is quite the surprise encounter. Aiding a known enemy of the Wizard... Arrest them!" The two women were apprehended without a fight, though Glinda the Good was irate at "this mistreatification!"

They made their way outside the mansion. "I have your sister, _and_ your friend," Morrible announced. "I'm willing to trade two for one, which I think is most generous."

Everyone but Morrible was confused, but they didn't have to wait long for the explaination to arrive, in the form of a green woman on a broom.

"Release them," Elphaba ordered. "You can have me, only release them."

The Gale Force was confused. The Wicked Witch of the West, trading herself for Glinda the Good? Her sister, possibly, but Elphaba's eyes were locked with those of the Witch of the North. There was no mistaking Elphaba's fear for ...her friend?

Glinda the Good felt as if she'd just woken up and found her entire closet was full of ugly, black clothing.

"Why should I release them?"

"If you let them walk toward me, I'll start to walk toward you. I can't possibly escape with the two of them, you don't have to worry," Elphaba pointed out.

Morrible nodded at the guards, who were more than happy to let go of Nessarose's chair and Glinda's arms, and Glinda rushed toward Elphaba, while Nessa wheeled behind. Elphaba shook her head at her friend, and moved away from her, though she was clearly headed toward Morrible, as she had promised. Elphaba's loop took her as far from her sister and friend as possible; she was trying to keep them away from her dangerous presence.

"You'll never win," Elphaba said, her voice low. "There will always be someone to fight you. Always. If not me, then people after me."

In that moment, Glinda felt herself growing faint. She fanned her face with her hands, and gasped. Elphaba's attention snapped to the blonde, and, from much experience, knew what was happenning. She rushed to catch Glinda just before she hit the ground.

Enraged, thinking there was some sort of trick going on, Morrible focused her attention on the solitary figure of Nessarose Thropp, who had paused her laborious trek across the bumpy terrain, and was watching Glinda and Elphaba with concern. "A trick!" she cried. "Things change so _suddenly_ around here. The _weather_ changes so suddenly around here!"

Seemingly out of nowhere, a large funnel of dirt and debris swept toward them, carrying what appeared to be a house. Suddenly, the spiral of wind released its hold on the house, and it plummeted toward Nessarose. Elphaba, in a moment of panic, waved her hands to the side, and the large house shifted its trajectory and then crashed onto a Gale Force Guard. Elphaba felt awful about it, but was glad to see Nessa unharmed.

"Look what you've done," Morrible cried.

"_You_ did that," Elphaba accused. "We all know it. Unfortunately, your little surprise missed its target, and you've exposed yourself. You're out of luck and you're out of time." Morrible opened her mouth to argue, but Elphaba interrupted her. "Now be gone," she barked. "Before somebody drops a house on you!"

Morrible's eyes darted to the sight of the guard's sad legs poking out from under the house, and then, skyward.

The Gale Force had seen what had happened, but didn't know what to do. Clearly, the Governor of Munchkinland had been threatened, for seemingly no reason. And Glinda the Good, their beloved public figure, seemed completely at ease around this green witch, who had rushed to help her when she had fainted. Why _would_ Morrible use Glinda as bait? Wouldn't the Wicked Witch of the West _loathe_ a person such as Glinda? Slowly, one by one, the guards turned their muskets on Morrible.

"You are to leave this place, and never return," Elphaba said. "And take your phony _Wizard_ with you."

"Arrest her," Glinda barked, for added support.

"And, if anyone asks," Elphaba added. "You never saw me."

As the guards dragged Morrible away, Glinda turned to her friend, a look of disbelief and joy on her face. "Elphaba?" Glinda's eye welled up with tears.

"Yes, it's me," Elphaba said. "I'm sorry you had to believe that something else had happened to me, but, OOF!!" Glinda's arms were around her so fast, she didn't have time to back away.

"Elphie, that was the most horrificious trick you've ever played, and you should have told me, and do you have any idea - Hey," she paused, pressing her body firmly against her friend's. Elphaba squirmed, trying to create space between them. But Glinda wasn't to be fooled. She placed a hand firmly on Elphaba's stomach, and gasped. "What is _this_?"


	19. Finale

"We have to get out of here," Elphaba said, pulling away from Glinda's curious hand.

"Elphaba?" The woman turned to look at her sister, not daring to hope for anything at all. Nessarose met her sister's stare. "Thank you."

Elphaba nodded, just once, and Nessa, with the aid of a Gale Force Guard, made her way back toward the safety of her mansion.

"Excuse me," a small voice said, catching everyone's attention. Glinda, Elphaba, Nessa and the Gale Force Guard all turned to see a young girl stepping out of the house. "Where am I, and -" her mouth dropped at the sight of Elphaba.

"You're in Munchkinland," Glinda said kindly, stepping forward to stand between the girl and Elphaba. Her training as a public figure had prepared her for something such as this. "What is your name? Where are you from?"

"I - I'm Dorothy Gale, from Kansas," the girl said, her hand finding its way up to fiddle with one of the braids that hung over her shoulders. "How do I get home?"

"I..." Glinda didn't really feel like dealing with this, and found herself looking at Nessarose for help.

"I'll take her in," Nessa volunteered. She held her hand out toward the girl. "I'm Nessarose Thropp, the governor here." Dorothy nodded, shook her hand, and turned to follow Nessa.

"You might want to go to the Emerald City," Glinda suggested, as the three people made their way toward the mansion. "The yellow brick road goes right there. You just follow that one road the whole way!"

Sighing, she turned back to Elphaba, who had busied herself hanging her head and fiddling with the handle of her broom. "I travel by air," Elphaba said. "I'm not sure how long it will take to get to safety by foot."

"Does that thing hold two?" Glinda's eyes, full of fear, were on the broomstick.

"It's been known to," Elphaba shrugged. "But never one as prone to fainting as yourself." Glinda raised her chin and narrowed her eyes at Elphaba, looking more adorable than determined, but communicating her thought nonetheless. "Alright," Elphaba said, still dubious. "Hop on."

Landing as smoothly as she could in the woods nearby, Elphaba let Glinda stagger off the broom before holding it to her side. She found herself a little less study in the air of late, but didn't want to admit it.

Glinda clutched her stomach and looked as though she might vomit, then, the placement of her hand reminding her, raised suspicious eyes to Elphaba's form.

"What was it I felt through your dress?"

"Glnda... It's hardly appropriate to comment on another woman's figure."

"Nice try, Elphie," Glinda huffed, clearly insultified. "Is that bump what I think it is?"

"Um, I... Don't, well..."

"Fae," a familiar voice teased. "You can tell her, you know."

Glinda thought her heart would stop, as Fiyero stepped out of the shadows and into the light. Six months of living on the run hadn't been particularly kind to either of them; Fiyero's face was rough with stubble and they both needed new clothes and a good meal (or ten). He stepped to Glinda and pulled her into a friendly hug. "I had hoped things would go alright... Did they?"

Glinda was staring at Elphaba. "Elphie," she said. "I want to know if you've been spying on us, and how, and why you didn't tell me you were alive, and if that bump is what I think it is."

"I've had my ear to the ground, I have my connections," Elphaba revealed. "Nobody could know I was alive, it was too risky. It still is, but, as of now, you're in more danger trying to survive Morrible than you are being aided by me and Yero. And yes," she added, turning her attention to Fiyero. "Things went alright." He moved to her side and kissed her forehead.

Glinda raised an eyebrow at her friend, waiting for her to answer the _very scandalacious_ question she'd posed, and pouted, huffed, and tapped her foot when Elphaba didn't offer up that information. Finally, she snapped, "And the bump?"

Elphaba flushed, and Fiyero wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "She's at about five months."

Squealing, Glinda hopped toward Elphaba, who ducked behind Fiyero and held him at arm's length like a shield. Glinda hugged Fiyero, while desperately flailing her arms behind him, trying to reach Elphaba.

"We have to get moving," Elphaba said, eyes darting around the forest. Fiyero and Elphaba led Glinda to one of their many hideouts - built in a cave and glamoured so that it didn't appear to have a decent-sized opening. It wasn't much, but it suited them fine. Elphaba waved her hand and a fire blazed to life in a far corner. "Tea?"

"Elphaba Thropp -" Glinda paused. "Tiggular?"

Elphaba shook her head. "I keep asking, and she keeps brushing it off," Fiyero said, his eyes trained on Fae.

"We live as man and wife, Yero, what's the difference?"

Fiyero eyed their company, and decided not to get into one of their all-too common debates. Instead, he shrugged.

"Alright then, _Elphaba Thropp_," Glinda barked. "There is absutively no excuse for you to have tricked me into thinking you were deadified."

"Besides your safety?"

"Besides _nothing_." Glinda had gotten fairly used to her word being gold, and didn't appreciate Elphaba's refusal to bend to her will. "Do you know how moodified I've been this past year? And you were going to have a little teeny _child_ and not tell me?"

"You can't stay here long," Elphaba said, ignoring Glinda's rant. "You'll have to return to make sure the Gale Force doesn't spread the word of my...being alive."

Glinda pouted, and Elphaba snorted at the typicalness of their situation.

"ELPHABA! We haven't seen each other in four and a half years! How can you be so... so..."

"_Tumultuous inside_?" Elphaba interjected, spinning around to glare at Glinda. "Just because I'm not ranting and raving, just because I apppear stoic, that doesn't mean I don't care! It hasn't been easy, not seeing you, and knowing you didn't know the truth. It hasn't been easy, being an enemy, being a risk to anyone who is near me. I've longed to talk to you, to listen to you, to have a normal life, but it's not my life."

Fiyero stood and enfolded Elphaba in his arms, kissing her temple, then her forehead, then her cheek, and took the kettle from her. Glinda observed this moment between them and felt a great deal of joy at it - she hadn't really ever had the chance to see them together. He could soothe her, which Elphaba greatly needed. There was a compatability to the pair, an energy, in the way they looked at each other, in the balance of their physical stature, and in the peace on Elphaba's face when Fiyero's body was near hers.

"I'm sorry," Elphaba said, but, like typical Elphaba, with a tone that said 'It is proper to say sorry, but I'm not really'. "I don't want you to think I haven't missed you, that _we_ haven't missed you," she added, gazing at Fiyero. "I also don't want you to go, but I fear your staying here... I think it's safest if you're not near me, Glin."

"You let Fiyero stay with you," Glinda pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest.

"That's different."

"How?"

"He's too brainless to see reason," Elphaba shrugged.

"Hey," Fiyero protested.

Glinda giggled at the sight of it, and felt as though she were back at Shiz.

"Well, why can't you come back with me? Without Morrible and the Wizard plotting against you, you could -"

"We can't go back. If anyone knows I'm still alive, they'll think it was really me making them suffer all along, and good will never be restored. You have to understand, Glinda. Now it's up to you. I believe in you."

Glinda looked from Fiyero to Elphaba, and willed her friend to be wrong. But she knew that Elphaba was correct. "But I only just found you again," she whispered, beginning to cry.

"You never lost me," Elphaba assured her. "There will be a way for us to communicate. I'm just not sure what it will be."

Glinda tearfully wrapped her friend in a firm embrace, feeling Elphaba's small but round belly against her waist and wishing she could be there for the birth of her friend's child.

Glinda returned to the Emerald City, now with this girl from Kansas to send home, and the added trouble that her three companions (she'd made friends along the way) seemed reluctant to part ways with her.

They now stood in the courtyard, near one of the Wizard's Magical Flying Balloons, having a semi-private conversation as they waited for the Wizard to come to take Dorothy away. They'd come all this way, but were still, they believed, without brains, heart or courage. It seemed odd to Glinda that they didn't recognize the presence of these things in themselves, but she supposed she could always point it out to them later.

"It's maddening, not knowing who you are," the Scarecrow lamented.

The man of tin stretched his rusty limbs and stared at the Scarecrow, sensing something vaguely familiar about it. "You're supposedly this Fiyero Tiggular fellow," he answered. "That's what everybody says."

"And who are you?"

"I'm not sure," the Tinman said. "I feel as though I should know. As though I should know many things, but do not."

"Well, perhaps it's for the better," Dorothy piped up.

"What you don't know can't hurt you," added the Lion.

Glinda observed this calmly. The Scarecrow had a Fiyero-like quality to it, as if everything that the people of Oz had perceived about Fiyero had come to life in it. Magic, she decided, worked in mysterious ways. The hopes and dreams and beliefs of people could actually assign a semblance of life to something.

But this Tinman... His voice was so familiar. Perhaps he had been a part of the riots against Elphaba? "Tinman," Glinda said, to which he responded with a bow of his head. "Tell me, why is it you want a heart?"

"Because I haven't got one," he said, earnestly.

"Why do you think you need one?"

"I'm not sure..." he seemed as though he were on the verge of realizing something. "I don't think I was always heartless. I think I had a heart, before..."

"What makes you think that?"

"I don't know. But I think my heart remembers something, I think it's attached to something important."

"Maybe it remembers something you don't actually want to know," the Scarecrow suggested. "Maybe something bad happened, and if you knew, it would make you sad."

"_Hearts will never be practical until they are made unbreakable."_

"Maybe," the Tinman sighed. "Maybe you're right."

With Morrible in prison and the Wizard gone, it was easy to spread the word that Elphaba had been framed by the Wizard, which was accepted so readily that it made Glinda seethe with anger. Only a year previous, they would have hung her from the highest pole for suggesting such a thing. "People," she decided, "are followers, but they don't bother to think about who they're following."

Boq overheard her, and kissed her cheek from behind her, wrapping his arms around her arms, over her collarbone, and smiling. "Does that mean they shouldn't follow you?"

"Well, obviously _I'm_ good," she pouted, her hands resting on his arms as if she were going to do some strange chinup on them. "I miss my friend, Boq," she sighed.

"I know you do. I wish you didn't have to," he murmured.

"But if they knew she was alive, they'd think she'd been why they'd been miserable, after all," Glinda recited. "I know, I know."

"But at least she's safe, and happy," Boq offered. "Off somewhere with Fiyero."

Glinda smiled. "I hope she has an army of boys. Mischievous, brainless _boys_. _Then_ she'll come crawling back, desperate for help," she asserted, chuckling.

On the outskirts of Oz, Fiyero was down on one knee in front of Elphaba, who found the situation overwhelming, and, therefore, was uncomfortable.

"I can't promise you the life I would have liked to have given you," he said, her hand in both of his. "But I can promise you I will love you forever. And ever. And ever. I've hinted at this more than once, Fae, and it's time you came up with an answer."

"Well, what exactly do you want me to say?"

"Just nine words, nine simple words: 'I love you, too, and yes, I'll marry you.' It's not hard."

"Fiyero, I love you endlessly, desperately, and would consider it the greatest honour and joy of my life to be your wife."

Fiyero considered her words a moment, trying to believe them. "That's more than nine words," he reminded her.

"You are hopeless," she laughed. "I can't wait to be your wife."

"I love you, Fabala."

"I love you, too, Fiyero."

And _those_ nine words were all they would ever need.

**Thank you so much for reading the reviewing!! I can't believe I finished my first fic! I've been working on another one for a few weeks now, it's another Fiyeraba. I'll start posting it soon, but I'd also like some feedback on One More Disaster. I know it's a short Oneshot, but that just means it won't take you long to read it!**

**As for the things I changed:**

**Someone didn't want Glinda and Elphaba to be apart forever, someone else didn't want Nessa to die. Originally, Nessa wasn't going to listen to Glinda, and end up FLATTENED... and Glinda was going to believe Elphaba was dead... Though, I suppose, they're still apart for forever, just not the same way, because they'll be able to see each other.**


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